2025-05-11: Final Frontier: Cerulean Skies
- Log: Final Frontier - Cerulean Skies
- Cast: Alto Saotome, Sheryl Nome, Ranka Lee, Astarte Spalding-Monteiro, Shinji Kaminaga, Sagiri Sakurai, Rose Tritten, Tabizan Tilgez, Rin Naujakaite, Flay Allster, Leon Sakaki, Grace O'Connor, Brera Sterne
- Where: Vajra Homeworld
- OOC - IC Date: 24 May 0100
- Summary: The truth about who's pulling the strings behind the Vajra War is revealed. And they need to be stopped before they take the entire galaxy for themselves.
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
The Knight class Vajra battleship looming ahead of the Battle Frontier
opens the giant maw of its forward structure to reveal the glow of the giant
cannon charging within. Just as the shine reaches its peak and seems about to
fire, a huge beam of swirling light blasts towards the Knight class, washing
over it. The Vajra warship twists and distorts under the assault of energy,
until it can maintain its structure no more and the entire vessel explodes in
a dazzling display of light.
On the bridge of the Battle Frontier, President Mishima shields his
eyes for a moment, before asking, "What was that?"
One of the bridge operators reports: "Detecting de-fold event... It's
the Macross Quarter!"
Sure enough, the Macross Quarter has just finished de-folding and
firing its heavy quantum reaction cannon. The rest of the fleet that had
followed the Quarter to Gallia IV prior are still folding out themselves to
join it.
The voice of the Quarter's captain, Jeffrey Wilder, filters in over
people's radios, <"Attention all forces. Do not be deceived. That is not the
real Ranka Lee.">
The Macross Quarter charges its main cannon again, firing off another
shot, though one that seems weaker than the previous, no doubt due to firing
it in quick succession. Still, the Quarter's de-fold location allows the shot
to bypass most of the gathered Vajra lines and streak in towards the giant
Ranka floating above the central point of the planet's orbital ring.
There is a flash of light at the impact point. As the light fades, the
giant Ranka is revealed to be gone. Instead, a giant robot floats there in
space. Over one kilometer tall, it's painted red, black and grey and is very
clearly a design of Macross battleship in its humanoid form, its pinpoint
barrier still crackling from having defended the attack.
An admiral on the Battle Frontier gasps in recognition and says,
"That's the Battle Galaxy!"
Sure enough, with its stealth and holographic projection systems
disrupted by the energy from the cannon blast, everyone's systems can now
accurately designate the vessel as the Macross 21. AKA Battle Galaxy. The
flagship vessel from the missing in action 'Galaxy' Long Distance Colony Fleet.
Questions, rumours and suspicions about the fate of the Galaxy Fleet at
the claws of the Vajra had been circling for years at this point. But there
had been no real evidence of their subsequent involvement in the Vajra war
until now.
The admirals on the Battle Frontier's bridge murmur amongst themselves
about this recent development, while President Mishima himself is looking a
little concerned. One of the admirals speaks up, "But how can we be sure that
it's still not Ranka Lee behind this?"
<"It's not!">
The familiar voice of Alto echoes over the radios, even as the fire and
smoke from the Lucifer's missile barrage fades to reveal... Nothing.
From behind Brera, a beam of golden light tinged with blue streaks in
to catch him by surprise, fired from the beam gunpod hanging beneath the still
intact YF-29 Sentinel. Alto had very clearly not escaped out of the barrage of
missiles, so how did he get all the way around behind Brera in that moment?
It's probably got something to do with the fact that an aura of blue
light now surrounds the Sentinel, trailing off behind it as it glides through
space. Alto continues, <"I saw it a moment ago. Ranka's trapped inside the
Battle Galaxy. She's not singing of her own free will, she's being forced to!">
This causes even more murmurs on the Battle Frontier's bridge. But
Captain Wilder appears to have more to say, <"Although there has been much
blood spilt between Humanity and the Vajra, the Vajra are not our true
enemies! The Galaxy Fleet has been fanning the flames of the Vajra war for
years now. They've been luring the Vajra to the Earth Sphere, encouraging the
public's hatred against them while using them as research for Galaxy's true
goals. All under the guidance of Colonel Grace Godunwa of the 117th Research
Fleet. Also known as Grace O'Connor.">
To those who know anything about the careers of both Sheryl and Ranka,
they would recognise that name as that of the manager they both shared. Though
it's hard to believe that a hard working, polite individual like that would be
capable of all this.
Which is why the Macross Quarter sends out a databurst along with its
transmission, revealing the evidence gathered so far. Wilder continues, <"She
intends to implant cybernetics utilizing fold quartz into all humans,
establishing a galactic wide fold network shared consciousness, similar to the
Vajra. But a network in which she sits at the top, having full control over
everything. And those who don't submit will face the wrath of the Vajra under
her control.">
The evidence provided shows this, outlined in research papers and
experimental notes. Along with the proof of Grace's background as well as the
fact it was all conceived of by her.
Wilder finishes, <"The Vajra are not who we should be fighting! The
Macross Quarter will charge through and engage the Battle Galaxy. We will
locate Grace O'Connor and stop her from enacting her plans. To the Frontier
Defense Fleet we request you hold the line against the Vajra until then! Any
additional forces which can join us are welcome. We will show Grace O'Connor
and her cohorts that we will not be her puppets.">
The Macross Quarter and the fleet around it begin to push forward,
skimming the edges of the battlefield to avoid most of the fighting and break
through to advance on the Battle Galaxy in the distance. It's still quite some
distance away, meaning there's an opportunity for any who join in to perform
some emergency repairs before re-engaging in the battle to come.
On the Battle Frontier's bridge, President Mishima clenches his fists
at the revelations. One of the admirals asks, "What should we do sir?
Officially they are fugitives and pirates."
Mishima replies, "Let them go... Once they've dealt with Grace
O'Connor, we can finish what we came here to do." Mishima had not expected the
full breadth of her plans... But there's still a chance to salvage his own,
provided she is removed from the picture.
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team has deployed in Battle Galaxy (Macross 21). KTS: EN Barrier activated! KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro has deployed in Nazca-class Refit. <Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
"...ryl! Miss Sheryl!"
Sheryl's eyelashes stir, then part, and she gazes blearily up at her
current manager, Elmo Kresnik, hovering over her with a frantic expression. It
breaks into relief when he sees her look at him, just before he offers her a
heavy-duty napkin and gingerly helps her sit up.
"Thank goodness you're still with us, Miss Sheryl," Elmo continues.
"We've got to get you off the stage."
She's numbly wiping her face, but her mind sharpens when she hears
that. The explosions around the Sentinel haunt her mind, but-- "No. Sheryl
Nome dies on stage, or she doesn't die at all," she insists, no matter how
absurd it sounds.
And sure enough, Elmo gives a disbelieving little laugh. Still, he
knows her well enough by now not to argue. He helps her to her feet; her
wedding dress has faded away into her hologram suit. It's easy enough to clean
up, at least.
Only once she's regained a semblance of normalcy does she look up at
the screens. She had only blacked out for a moment--but a lot can happen in a
moment. She focuses in on one thing first and foremost.
"Battle Galaxy?! How in the world--"
Then Captain Wilder's explanations and warnings sink in--and all of a
sudden--
"Alto!!" Sheryl cries in joyous relief, seeing him make his triumphant
comeback against Brera.
Brera, meanwhile, has been baring his teeth at the Battle Frontier and
their claims that Ranka is a false songstress. "<Lies! We're both doing this
of our own will! We're both... we're both...>" But then the giant Ranka's
image is disrupted by cannon fire, and Battle Galaxy is left in its wake.
Brera stares at it for a second; then he clutches his head. "<R-Ranka... Where
are you...? This is--our family's sins-->"
Isn't it?
It's very easy indeed for Alto to catch Brera by surprise in this
moment; his beam gunpods impact on the Lucifer's wings, searing them black and
pocking deep grooves into them. Reflexively, he takes off, but his movement is
slower, more erratic--full of openings. In this moment, he can't quite process
why Alto is still alive, what's going on with the Sentinel's blue aura.
She's being forced to sing... Galaxy has been fanning the flames... The
mastermind behind it all is-- Brera's mechanical eyes are everywhere and
nowhere as the Lucifer's machine guns open fire on the Sentinel. One could
have always described Brera as robotic, but there's something about the rhythm
of the shots that's now downright mechanical.
All around him, all over his screens, pulses the word SLAVE. It's been
pulsing for a while now.
"<My oh my,>" a maliciously amused voice sounds then, not just over
Brera's communications but throughout the fleets. "<You've done your homework,
haven't you? Not that it'll do you any good.>"
A small holo-image of Grace O'Connor--no, Col. Grace Godunwa--appears
then via transmitters across the two fleets. On the stage on the Battle
Frontier, Sheryl's eyes widen, and she staggers a step, supported by Elmo.
("Ranka! I knew it!!" he'd cried in tearful joy earlier when he'd
heard the truth about her. But there's a lot going on right now.)
"Grace... It was you all along," Sheryl half-grasps, half-growls.
"How much longer until you're satisfied?!"
The image of Grace chuckles. It's pristine, not a hair out of place,
not a single wrinkle in her usual teal suit. It is questionable if this is an
accurate representation of Grace in this moment. "<Just a little bit longer,
Sheryl. I wonder if you all will be able to find me before then?>" Her serene
smile twists into a gleefully hateful smirk as she lifts her nose. "<Struggle
as best you can, you worms!>"
Sheryl grits her teeth, clutching the bloodied napkin in her hand--but
she shakes her head and changes her focus. It's a lot for her right now too,
and as much as she wants to tear her ex-manager a new one, there's something
more important to her right now, and she only has so much breath left.
"Alto!" she calls; the fold quartz in her earring sparkles. "Brera's
being forced too, I'm sure of it! Knock some sense back into him--don't let
Grace have her way any longer!"
It's a better retort to Grace than anything she could say to her
directly by far.
<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
That is not the real Ranka Lee.
Where is the real Ranka Lee then? If not that hollow-eyed singing goddess of
the battlefield?
She is wearing that same dress, and Brera's harmonica is looped around her
neck. However... her forehead beads with sweat, closed eyelids twitching
every so often, like she's in a rapid eye movement of sleep.
Violet rings encircle her arms, her legs, her head as she sits surrounded in a
mechanical chamber. They do not touch her, she's suspended within them, but
nevertheless she is restrained. She can make no movements that are her own.
All that training, all that grooming to be the Super Dimension Cinderella at
the hands of Grace O'Connor, was merely for her to gain enough data to seize
control of her subconscious. She doesn't even have to sing, to sing.
It is within her dreaming that she does, and Grace merely plucks it out,
broadcasts it to the world. Within those dreams...?
The galaxy rushes by her, that feeling of Fold Space grips her consciousness.
She sees the battlefield, but not as it is. It is more a distant tableau of
violence and death, far too distant for her to truly pay attention.
A man in ephemeral purple and blue is at her side, whispering.
You're doing well, Ranka.
Our mother would be proud.
There's something there though, in the periphery of her vision. Blue, fierce
but violent, and red - like a wavering candleflame that's down to the last of
the wick. She can't notice it at first, but then she does more keenly.
"I close my eyes and... wait for you to come."
That singing hitches for a moment, just a brief moment. But a purplish image,
like a smear on reality appears behind her, and moves to recenter where she's
focusing.
I trained you better than that. Shut it out.
Let nothing distract you from what needs to be done.
It hurts.
It's supposed to. Stop being so spoiled.
Spoiled...
There's confusion on the word. Didn't Grace always say that about...
... about...
Focus.
Within the rush of fold light, there's that blue again, and that flicker of
red. And perhaps even...
R-Ranka... Where are you...?
I'm...
Brera disappears so violently from that space that it's like he never existed
in the first place.
Keep singing. Don't you want to make it up to him?
It's your fault.
In reality, her entire face scrunches up in that moment, spasming, as two tears
drop down her face, and she sags in submission.
The more she tries not to look though, the more she sees it. The familiar blue
growing brighter by the second, reminding her of a day in Aprilius One. The
red - not quite that, but still more prominent, like she can focus on that
heartbeat within it, like that moment when they sang in synch, after Gallia IV
fell apart.
... part of her longs to look.
KTS: Rose Tritten has deployed in ZGMF-1000 ZAKU Warrior. KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has deployed in Tyranado. KTS: Flay Allster has deployed in GAT-X105E IWSP Strike E Gundam. KTS: Rin Naujakaite has deployed in Combat Proto Test Group Nauja. KTS: Tabizan Tilgez has deployed in Queadluun-Vargal.
<Pose Tracker> Astarte Spalding-Monteiro has posed.
All hands are on deck on the One Fine Day, their moment of respite
from the Vajra swarm offering the ship an opportunity to lick its wounds. The
entire engineering staff and a good bit of the non-engineering staff perform
emergency repairs all over the ship and to the Tritten Team's mobile suits,
which had also been recovered.
Captain Astarte Spalding darts around the bridge, looking over the
shoulders of each of her senior officers and assessing the situation.
"Captain," pipes up Circe Bosch, the officer in charge of shipboard
operations, "Repairs are proceeding smoothly. We should be in working order
shortly."
"Very good. I want us back out there as soon as we can." Astarte walks
over to Luca Delamain, the communications officer, listening to Alto and
Wilder over the radio. "...I should have figured there was something more to
this. Somehow things always turn out like this. The machinations of those who
desire power."
"Speaking from experience, Cap?"
"You know it, Delamain. Jenais, status on weapons and the Trittens."
Petra Jenais, the tactical officer, turns to the captain. "Going well,
ma'am. Missiles are at about half capacity. The ZAKUs should be ready to
redeploy at the same time as the ship."
"We'll try to focus on the cannons and railguns, then. It doesn't seem
like the Vajra are going to be too much of a concern, so we don't have to
worry as much about mixing up our tactics." She walks back over to the radio,
connecting to the hangar to check on the Tritten Team. "Gals, you doing okay
there? Think you're up for round 2?"
<Pose Tracker> Shinji Kaminaga has posed.
The space outside returns to darkness, as the small fleet that fled with the
Quarter appears at the Vajra homeworld with truth in hand. Shinji Kaminaga
watches the monitors in front of him - piped into a small side chamber on the
GGG intelligence vessel he was given leave to retreat with. Volfogg will
already be making his report with Asami.
The reports on the unfolding situation scatter across his face. A girl betrayed
and suborned. A species suborned. Two peoples with freedom, and one who would
destroy that.
A flame flickers in him. To bury all mankind beneath a blanket of
oneness...there are species who have taken that road. Indeed, it is the way of
the Vajra to serve one higher in their order. And yet it is not the nature of
mankind. And the Vajra hierarchy has been subverted.
He says nothing as he produces the Beta Capsule, raises it high, and vanishes
in scarlet light.
Amid the swirling vortex of machines and battling Vajra, he rises, bursting
into space from points beyond. The Planck Brane parts, and he appears: A
silver being coated in red, an inert, blank expression. He floats for some
seconds taking up position near the Battle Frontier; and then, Ultraman adopts
a flying stance, and soars into the fray.
Aboard the ship, Hiroko Asami's eyes narrow. "Ultraman," she murmurs.
A meter tracking spacetime distortions spikes. Volfogg, all but built into the
rear wall of the bridge, glances only briefly at it. "Yes. It seems he
considers this an important matter, Agent Asami."
"Guess we'll have to gather all the data we can for the folks back home, huh?"
she sighs, and wanders over to a console to begin work. "Has Kaminaga returned
to the ship yet?"
"He should still be on the Quarter, Agent Asami."
Asami scoffs, but sets her hands to work. "I wonder...is he involved because of
the Vajra, or because of the woman at the top?" she muses.
<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.
Things haven't quite gone as expected.
But then, things not going as expected is just what's expected, nowadays. Is
that confusing? Well; it's a confusing world out there.
And in these confusing times, one thing is clear:
<"Sounds like go time to me.">
You can always use back up, when things don't go quite the way you planned.
VTX Union's Special Section 3 has, technically, been here. In large part
though, they've just been helping with technical details, providing assistance
to their ("number one VIP!") client Sheryl Nome where needed; aiding
resupplies and so on here and there. Amies has been helping with resource
management; Meryl has been holed away in one engineering project or another
helping her fellows to keep everything running ship shape. But otherwise?
Special Section 3 has just been waiting in the wings.
But sure enough, when the Quarter reveals itself -- and subsequently reveals
the -truth- behind that seeming hologram of Ranka Lee, behind the people
-truly- responsible for all this madness and violence, well--
<"I'd say so, Sakurai. Special Section 3, deploying in defense of the Frontier
Fleet!">
-- the time for waiting is over.
Hirosuke Amasaki's calm voice carries with it the subtle but decisive tones of
an experienced commander as the sleek white form of the Carriax undocks from
the massive silhouette of the Battle Frontier. It blazes through the dark of
space surrounding the Vajra home planet in contrails of ghostly ceruleans and
sea greens as it pushes towards the heart - and source - of the conflict.
At the belly of that support craft, the blue-black form of the Tyranado begins
to glow with life, optics flashing with the Quark Drive's sea green suffusion
of life as Hirosuke's orders broadcast to the team:
<"The mission is simple, I'd say. Support the Macross Quarter -- and take down
the source of our client's misery, Colonel Grace Godunwa!">
Within the cockpit of the Tyranado, Rami Amasaki's normally guileless and
bright-eyed features are steeled into an expression of anger and determination.
And Sagiri Sakurai's?
Pastel green eyes narrowed.
<"Music to my ears, chief!">
A wild grin on her lips.
But as the mission starts, as systems come online--
"You ready for this, Rami?" Sagiri asks, glancing over her shoulder. Rami just
nods once, sternly.
"For all the lives that woman's ruined -- I refuse to let her off lightly!"
Sagiri just smiles in response before turning to the controls, foot pressed to
the accelerator.
<"Hell yeah! Tyranado -- deploying! Meryl -- whip me up a Launcher special,
will you~?">
<"Aye aye, ma'am!">
The Tyranado detaches from the Carriax. And with a blaze of igniting thrusters,
shoots off into the distance with the Carriax close behind, gunning for the
heart of the battlefield.
<"Rin, watch our six! We're not letting that walking disgrace to the name
'manager' get away with this!!">
<Pose Tracker> Rose Tritten has posed.
The Tritten Trio of ZAKUs stood in their assigned mechanical bays in the hangar
of the One Fine Day, pocked with the marks and scars of battle. Inside her
cockpit, her helmet drifting weightlessly above her head, Rose's eyes were
heavy, trying not to succumb to the combination of battle fatigue and the
revelations brought on by the arrival of the Macross Quarter. Around them, the
mechanics of the One Fine Day scurried around providing quick repairs and
resupply, heavy hangar cranes and machinery swapping out drained battery pans
for Beam Machine Guns, reloading missiles, refueling vernier systems and
jump-charging batteries. Over at Sushila's ZAKU, a swarm of mechanics worked
to remove the damaged remains of the MS's neck and replace it with a spare
head.
"Miss Tritten!" The voice of one of the mechanics, soft and shy sounding,
drifted into Rose's ear. "The Captain wants all of you to eat before you
launch again."
Rose unbuckled her seat harness and pushed her helmet aside, reaching over to
the cockpit hatch switch, sliding it open with a hiss. At the hatchway, her
helmet hooked onto the neck of her normal suit, one of the mechanics, Galaxy,
big lily coloured eyes and tied up auburn hair, looked in with a big smile,
the kind that made her the most popular girl on the One Fine Day's mechanical
crew.
"I went to the kitchen and had the cooks make sandwiches!" Galaxy held out one
of the wrapped sammies to Rose, who eagerly received it, along with a bottle
whose contents were unknown.
"Thank you so much." Rose strained a smile, preparing to sit back down. "All of
us have been fixed on the battle cameras... Great job out there, and thank
you! We're all rooting for you three!" Galaxy smiled again, grabbing the box
of meals floating next to her.
"We'll be fine...make sure Aspyn gets a non-fake meat one, she'll get all
bloated...don't tell her I said that." Rose said, settling back into her seat.
Galaxy giggled as she pushed off the ZAKU and headed towards Aspyn's ZAKU
Slash Warrior. Rose closed the hatch and started to munch at the sandwich, a
filling combination of meat and veggies that at any other time would have
rated as 'acceptable' but in these circumstances was a feast beyond
description. The drink revealed itself to be Cantaloupe-Taro Milk Tea, and in
short time the energy concoction laced into it perked Rose back to life.
"I can only speak for myself ma'am," Rose replied to Captain Astarte's call
over the radio. "But I think I'm up for it."
"Once my head is back on straight, I'm ready." Sushila piped in. "Mngee chooo!"
Aspyn added, not bothering to finish eating before speaking.
Rose knew one thing for certain...the day was probably going to get a whole lot
longer.
<Pose Tracker> Tabizan Tilgez has posed.
This isn't the first deployment Tabizan has been in. Today, even!
Earlier, she was involved in supporting SAL forces both physically - she has a
lot of weapons - and not; Tabizan may be primarily a morale-booster but she
also makes a pretty good rallying point, flagbearer, and lieutenant. She's not
the kind of idol that can do Sheryl's job (or Ranka's, for the other side) but
she can pump up a squad better than most.
She made it through the early parts of the battle with minor damage, currently
being repaired. One of the Wizard Packs has been removed, and a crew -
including Tabizan, at her full macronized size - is attaching a new one to the
back of the half-Meltrandi battle suit, half-MS. Tabby has taken the
opportunity to take her helmet off and cool off a little - piloting the
Queadluun-Vargal is hard work!
Tabizan expected to go straight back into battle against the Vajra, but a
broadcast has well and truly interrupted *that*.
"What the hell?" It was meant to be under her breath - idols, even battle
idols, don't swear on camera - but she's big and there are people close enough
to hear her, even if cameras aren't precisely being pointed at her right now.
Closing the suit back up with a quick jerk of its zipper and a hiss of its
seals as it automatically tightens, Tabizan leaves the last bit of fine
attachment of the Wizard packs to professionals while she crouches, picking up
her helmet from where she'd set it between the Vargal's feet. To the crew:
"Get me ready to fly! Like, now!" While crouched, she picks up one of the tech
crew and, very gently, deposits him on the Vargal's shoulder to finish some of
the attachment checks.
"Hey, can someone tell me what's up?" Tabizan asks, over SAL communications, a
moment later. Tabizan is a lieutenant, a rallying cry on legs; she is *not* a
commander or a strategist and she is confused. The Vajra's idol is fake? A
ship that doesn't exist any more is trying to take over humanity? (Which,
technically, she isn't, but she doubts she'd be left out.) It's kind of hard
to believe!
...
"Tabby, launching!"
The Queadluun-Vargal rockets out into space, the unusual unit back in working
condition. If you took the curved shapes of a Queadluun-Rau's limbs, complete
with flared hip plates, but gave it more human proportions between its torso
and leg and a slim backpack full of back thrusters, unfolding wings (currently
snapping open), and extensional arrestors, you'd have the Queadluun-Vargal:
halfway between battle armour and mobile suit.
Also it's as brightly painted as a parade suit. Can't miss it.
Tabizan immediately cycles frequencies to match up with other deployments as
her thrusters fire. "Tabby here!" Is that actually her callsign or is she just
introducing herself. "ZAFT's ready to assist. And if you want to see a worm
struggle, you're looking in the wrong place! Try a mirror~"
(Tabizan does not expect Grace to be receiving from a random SAL mech, even if
she *is* one of the PLANTs' idols, but it makes her feel better.)
<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.
SD RECAP RIN:
RIN: That's messed up.
RANCOR: bark.wav
RIN: OH MY GOD WHY IS RANKA HUGE NOW
SCORN: caw.ogg
RIN: Oh god, Sheryl.
RANCOR: whimper.mp2
NORMAL SPACE
The Nauja concept team deploys; the mass-production Gespenst armed, the two
drones adapted to space mode with strap-on thrusters. Even if there has not
been time to give Rancor his heart's (?) desire of a return of the Pinpoint
Barrier -- not great to do the scale of rebuild necessary -- they have a track
record.
Even if the triumph of Rancor's past has been usurped.
In the cockpit, Rin goggles as Captain Wilder transmits things to them. She
hears it in relative slow motion. To the others, to Meryl and Amies and Rami,
she says in slow disbelief, "How could... she DO that. This is... It's... Even
if she only got halfway there," Rin continues, in horror, "you know about 'net
splits,' right? She'd die or get cacked and then... then people would fight
over it. The scale of this."
It's not that Rin doesn't think it could ever possibly happen.
Quite the contrary! A diet of entertainment and gaming has told her *just how
horrible it might be*.
"... The only thing that could stop her... the other fleets? Britannia or
something banning it? Hah, it's... It's funny, but..."
But it's GO TIME.
"Alright," Rin exhales afterwards.
"... I've had to see how hard Ranka was getting leaned on," she continues, "and
I saw it even more with Sheryl and if that smug little stuck-up OL is behind
all of their suffering *I'm going to enjoy this* SCORN! Z axis monitor, plus
31! Rancor, stay with me until we get stuck in!" The latter part of the
sentence was speeding up, and Rin reaches a clipped series of phonemes that
approach the unintelligible as Scorn ascends (relative to the implicit axial
coordinates that the Battle Frontier's alignment creates) and Rin and Rancor
follow on the Tyranado's left flank. Rin half-turns, her own six covered by
the loyal if extremely improbable canid-drone, to orient the Launcher weapon
back the 'way they came'.
"The worm thing kind of did stand out," Rin admits, after Tabby speaks out.
KTS: Shinji Kaminaga has deployed in Ultraman. KTS: EN Barrier activated! <Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.
Terminal's decision to support the members of SMS who turned against the Space
Assembly League has led to a lot of movement of ships and people - perhaps
some of the most since the dissolution of the Federation, given the return
trip to Gallia IV. While many of the larger ships stayed behind to continue
their duty of defending Magallanica, it's a sizeable fleet backing the SMS.
And such a trip has given Flay Allster the opportunity to see something far
beyond the shattered, gilded cage that is Earth - even if she doesn't have
much talent to lend such a dangerous operation beyond helping out on the
bridge, and mobile suit defense. What and why one must fight is a difficult
question, both when it comes to humans and Vajra... and it seems this trip has
provided one such answer.
Despite the words of those more informed, however... the giant form of Ranka
Lee is certainly a lot to take in. "So that's what the Space Assembly League's
prized Songstress of Hope amounted to, is it?" Flay sighs, taking in the
Strike's targeting data. Her mind juxtaposes it with the face Lacus makes when
she thinks no one's looking - and the face Lilium made when she knew everyone
was looking. "Even if it's not really her... there's something messed up about
it." She concludes, her voice never quite losing its harsh tone.
There's a task to focus on right now, though - and if they're not successful,
there's a lot more than just Ranka's autonomy on the line. Flay never really
learned about the history of the Battle Galaxy, or the research fleet, before
this trip - so Grace O'Connor's true history is a genuine surprise. She was
the one who orchestrated the war against the Vajra? If humans worked like the
Vajra, did there would be no difference between Natural or Coordinator, no
difference between anyone. There would be peace. And yet...
"Seriously? A manager on a power trip? Who would ever want that? No way, I'll
never give myself up to someone like her!" Flay admonishes to herself, while
making her pre-flight adjustments. It seems like they have a clear target...
and against a ship as big as the Battle Galaxy, they're going to need all the
firepower they can get, so the IWSP is once again chosen. "Flay Allster,
Strike... launching!" She announces, as the Gundam flies into formation with
an assortment of Murasames and Variable Fighters from the Quarter and the
Terminal support fleet. "We're here to help you out this time, Frontier
Fleet~" She adds, her cameras inevitably scanning upon Tabizan and her machine
in particular. She supposes it goes without saying they can put that little
rematch of theirs on hold for now.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Sakaki has posed.
As the Macross Quarter Folds In, so too does the united fleet - the Gefion
chief among them. Aisha stands at the bridge, arms crossed as Wilder makes his
speech. The FDF's made quite a mess of things, haven't they? Aisha knew about
the implant plan - Leon was one of the people to help discover it, after all,
but to see the full scope of the Galaxy's schemes laid out does take her
breath away. It's genius - insidiously genius, but genius nonetheless.
"Alright, Leon. You're good to launch," she radios over to the hangar bay.
% "Alright. Heading for takeoff." Leon is sitting in the cockpit of the new
YF-30, a magnificent prototype in grey and white with red stripes. It's
Aisha's masterpiece, and it's finally time to put it to use. Clad in his
flightsuit and with a resolute expression on his face, he touches the
photograph on the dash once as he taxis to the catapult. Holographic
guidelines stretch out in front of him as the thrusters oscillate up and down.
It's time.
"Siegfried 1, launching!" With a roar of thermonuclear fire, the engines start
up and the catapult shoots the plane out into space, Leon pushed back in his
seat from the acceleration. It's powerful alright, far more so than the VF-25A
he had been previously flying. Aisha's done fine work, that's for sure. Leon
spins and twirls the plane through space as he gets up to top speed, making a
straight dash for the battlefield.
"Siegfried 1 to Skull 4! Hey Alto, you miss me?"
"I've had enough of this manipulation! Of Ranka, and the Vajra too!"
As the Quarter bursts through the Fold Gate, it's flanked on all sides by a
small army of fresh Variable Fighters, led by none other than Skull 1, Ozma
Lee himself in his VF-25S Messiah with an Armored Pack bristling with missiles.
"The Macross Quarter!?" Luca gasps, sitting in the cockpit of his RVF-171EX
Nightmare Plus as he watches the scene unfold.
"Sorry we're late! Traffic was murder!" Ozma barks over the comms.
"Major Ozma..." Luca mutters.
"You idiot!" Ozma bellows. "Call me Captain, Skull 3!"
"Skull 3? Captain!" Luca exclaims. They still want him back...? Just then,
several Vajra Mobile Soldiers break through Luca's lines and close in with
beam guns ready. Luca jumps, and scrambles to evade, but just then, a beam of
light cuts through the body of the first, and it explodes, before more beams
scythe through the remainder of the pack. Luca turns to see Michael and the
Pixie Team flying to his rescue.
"Skull 2! Michael!"
"Good to see you, Skull 3. Let's fall back to the Quarter and regroup. You
don't look too good in that thing." Michael quips.
"Right!" The S.M.S. is back together, and together they'll finally put an end
to things.
KTS: Leon Sakaki has deployed in YF-30 Chronos <Fighter>. KTS: EN Barrier activated! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team has deployed as a Boss for 8 opponents. <Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
As the Macross Quarter and those flying with it begin to get close, the
revealed Battle Galaxy quickly comes to life. The various turrets positioned
across its structure turn, taking aim towards the approaching fleet.
Additionally, several bay doors along its body and the carrier docked
to its left arm begin to unleash a deluge of new fighters. Systems identify
them as 'AIF-9V Ghost'. They appear to be a new model from the line of
AI-controlled drone fighters used by the Macross Fleets.
The agile little fighters swarm through space in great numbers to meet
the approaching forces, their AIs directing them to dart around in space
unpredictably to make aiming more difficult. As both sides move into weapons
range, the space between is quickly lit up with beam fire and micro-missiles
streaking through and exploding.
Behind the fleet of Ghosts, the Battle Galaxy is not idle as its large
cannons start to send beam blasts cutting across space towards the Macross
Quarter and its fleet.
The Quarter is not the only target though as the swarm of Ghosts rush
in. They quickly split up into groups, darting through space erratically as
they each approach their targets. As they get into weapons range of the
approaching forces, they quickly soar in, almost heedless of their own
survival as they focus on trying to get the kill.
The Ghosts unleash a combination of fire from beam guns and
micro-missiles, initially focusing their efforts on the mobile weapons.
Meanwhile, the other capital ships in the fleet have to contend with
the large beams the Battle Galaxy is sending their way.
-=-=-=-=-
President Mishima taps the armrest of his chair nervously as the
situation continues to further diverge from his own plans. And Grace's
confirmation of her hand in all this just gets him sweating further. If she
reveals his own involvement... Of course, the battle still rages on, operators
continuing to give their reports.
"The Fairy Tale system is inoperable. The core has been destroyed and
we've lost control of the friendly Vajra!"
"Battle Galaxy is launching a fleet of Ghosts to engage the Macross
Quarter and reinforce the Vajra lines."
"The Vajra have broken through our left flank. Islands six, seven and
eleven are taking damage!"
Mishima stands from his chair, starting to pace for a moment as he
tries to think. Things are starting to spiral. He needs a way to recover
control. With the Fairy Tale system destroyed, the original plan is no longer
possible. This is what he gets for trusting that witch and her magic...
Finally Mishima decides, "Prepare another wave of Dimension Eaters.
Target the Vajra lines and the source of their network. We'll just have to
destroy as many of them as we can in one swoop."
One of the admirals protests, "But sir! Our own forces will be caught
up in the blast radius. Along with the Macross Quarter and its fleet!"
Mishima spins around to glare, "That doesn't matter at this point! If
we aren't victorious here, everything will have been for naught!" He turns,
shouting, "Give the orders!"
But before anyone has a chance to follow through with the President's
demands, the doors at the rear of the bridge open and a team of armed soldiers
rush in and raise their guns at Mishima himself.
Mishima freezes at the sight, before stammering out, "W-What's the
meaning of this!?"
An officer walks out from behind the soldiers, announcing, "Leon
Mishima. You are under arrest for the charge of conspiring to assassinate
former President Howard Glass and illegally gain control of the Presidency of
the Frontier Government."
Mishima's eyes go wide at the announcement. Why is this happening now?
He starts to get out, "What proof-"
But a new voice cuts him off, <"Leon."> The image of Catherine Glass
appears on one of the bridge monitors. She's clearly upset as she glares
daggers towards him. Who wouldn't be after you find your fiance murdered your
father? She finishes, <"I'm canceling our engagement and breaking up with
you.">
"What-Wait! Let go of me! Don't you know who I am!? I'm the Pres-"
Mishima's further protests are cut off as he is dragged off the bridge and the
doors close behind.
The entire bridge is silent for a moment, everyone wondering about
what's going to happen now. Finally one of the admirals shouts, "Get back to
work! We still have to survive this battle!"
-=-=-=-=-
The Lucifer returns fire on the Sentinel, the rapid fire shots
streaking across space on course to intercept the Sentinel's path. But just
before they reach it, a familiar portal opens up directly in front of the red
and white Valkyrie, which dives into it and vanishes, leaving the shots to
pass through empty space a moment later.
A few moments later, another blast of light streaks in towards the
Lucifer, this time from below. The Sentinel dives in towards its prey, having
exited from its short range fold jump to catch Brera by surprise once more.
<"You idiot! How can you manipulate your own sister!?">
The Sentinel soars through space, blue light trailing behind it as Alto
listens to the drama playing out between Sheryl and Grace. He doesn't
intervene himself, as for all the contact he's had with Grace, he never really
had much in the way of a personal connection with her. And certainly not to
the extent that Sheryl has...
However, as Sheryl makes that request of him, Alto narrows his eyes,
reaching up to detach the earring from his necklace and moving to put it on
his ear. The fold quartz hanging from it sparkles in response as Alto firmly
says, <"Leave it to me.">
'I'm coming, Ranka.'
Of course, the reinforcements from the Quarter are a welcome surprise
for Alto as he enthusiastically says, <"Captain! Leon! Klan!"> And less
enthusiastically, <"Michael."> Kidding. <"Just let me deal with this ass...">
Ports along the Sentinel's frame snap open to reveal the micro-missiles
beneath. A barrage of the missiles blasts outwards, rapidly spreading out to
close in towards the Lucifer. They're only a distraction though.
As Brera is dealing with the missiles, the Sentinel slips into another
fold portal, reappearing from yet another direction once more. It fires a
rapid burst of gunfire from its machine guns, looking to shred the Lucifer's
gunpod.
It's not quite the end of Alto's onslaught though as the Sentinel
disappears and reappears with another fold skip, this time transforming into
Battroid mode as it appears directly in front of the Lucifer and charges
straight towards it.
The Sentinel extends its fist out in front of it as a barrier of light
flares up around the whole machine. This is not the light of a pinpoint
barrier, but rather that of a Fold Distortion Field. The field brightens in
intensity as Alto charges in, crying out, <"Wake the hell up, you damned
robot!"> The Sentinel collides fist-first into the Lucifer.
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Leon Sakaki with ROV-20 20mm Beam Guns Rapid Barrage!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Flay Allster with Bifors BML-04B Micro-missiles Lockon Strike!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Rin Naujakaite with ROV-25 25mm Beam Guns Pinned Down!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Tabizan Tilgez with Bifors BML-04B Micro-missiles Lockon Strike!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Rose Tritten with BP-01a 55mm Beam Gun Pinpoint Targeting!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Sagiri Sakurai with Bifors BML-04B Micro-missiles Lockon Strike!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Shinji Kaminaga with ROV-25 25mm Beam Guns Pinned Down!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Astarte Spalding-Monteiro with Beam Array Full Complement!
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Leon Sakaki has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Tabizan Tilgez engages evade against Mobile Weapons Team's Bifors BML-04B Micro-missiles Lockon Strike!
KTS: Tabizan Tilgez's Physical Wall L1 activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Best Defense! Tabizan Tilgez successfully reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Bifors BML-04B Micro-missiles Lockon Strike, taking 300 damage!
KTS: Leon Sakaki has activated the Foresee Spirit Command. KTS: Flay Allster has activated the Rouse Spirit Command. KTS: Sagiri Sakurai engages evade against Mobile Weapons Team's Bifors BML-04B Micro-missiles Lockon Strike!
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai moderately reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Bifors BML-04B Micro-missiles Lockon Strike, taking 300 damage!
KTS: Flay Allster engages intercept against Mobile Weapons Team's Bifors BML-04B Micro-missiles Lockon Strike!
KTS: Flay Allster's Physical Wall L2 activates, negating 2000 base damage. KTS: Flay Allster moderately reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Bifors BML-04B Micro-missiles Lockon Strike, taking 2739 damage! <Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
"Hah," Sheryl breathes as 'President' Mishima gets arrested and
carried away, a triumphant smile curling up her lips. She never did like him,
and now she's justified in it. But she sags, her strawberry blond curls
tumbling over her shoulders, and she leans heavily on Elmo.
"H-hang in there, Miss Sheryl!" he urges her. The VTX was helping with
the concert before, but with the battle reaching a new stage and them
deploying on the Carriax, he's got a lot less immediate support right now. As
far as he can tell, the concert's over anyway. So: "I'll go get the doctors.
You stay right here!"
He rushes off, and Sheryl lets him, watching him go briefly. He didn't
give her the chance to, but even if he'd lingered, she wouldn't have had the
heart to tell him what her body is telling her: it's a waste of time. Her eyes
soften in gratitude all the same. He's a good man--sincere and earnest. She
hopes he'll get to go back to being Ranka's manager after this. She takes a
deep breath, then focuses back on the video feed.
"Feeling under the weather, Sheryl?" Holo-Grace's projection wonders,
light and mocking. Her expression shifts into something more sober. "I told
you you should have just gone home."
"Shut up, Grace," she mutters, and for some reason, Holo-Grace complies.
The Sentinel does a short-range fold. Brera is not given enough leash
to react to this or to Alto's accusation properly; he simply turns the Lucifer
to face him. But the movement is slow, clunky, like he's struggling against
himself. Even without that, the fold is genuinely unexpected to the one
controlling the Lucifer right now, and the micro-missiles that follow explode
against the Lucifer's exterior. A pinpoint barrier defends against them, but
it takes the entirety of the machine's focus--exactly as Alto had planned.
Another slip and the Sentinel attacks from the Lucifer's blind spot, taking
out its gunpod. The Lucifer turns, likewise transforming into Battroid mode,
and then the Sentinel is immediately in its face, projecting a barrier of
light.
Brera can only scream as the Fold Distortion Field impacts along with
the Sentinel's fist, driving both of them back. The SLAVE messages glitch and
snow violently, and he clutches his head. His fingers dig along his hair, his
scalp--the implant driven through his skull--
Wake the hell up, you damned robot!
His screams peak into a furious snarl, and as the SLAVE protocol is
weakened, he curls his fingers around his cranial implant and rips it clear
out.
Blood spatters against the interior of the Lucifer, which has gone
mostly dark and still, leaving behind only life support systems. The exterior
has crunched inward under the force of the Sentinel's fold-enhanced punch,
taking heavy damage. It's not completely wrecked, but it won't be moving for a
while. Over the comms, Brera rasps and pants.
Finally, he growls, "<Alto... Saotome...>" Blood trickles down his
face; he looks up, eyes now clear and focused. "<...thank you,>" he whispers.
"Brera!" Sheryl calls from the Battle Frontier in relief, sinking to
her knees. She doesn't think the two of them will be friends now, but
she'd told Brera ages ago that he was too hard on Alto. Though her voice is
strained, she lightens it with the cadence of a tease: "Not so 'unworthy'
after all, hm? Just like I told you!"
Hearing Sheryl's voice by proxy over the comms from Alto's Sentinel,
Brera remembers that too. "<...You did.>" There's another pause; then he
slumps back in his seat, gaze traveling towards the Battle Galaxy. "<Prove it,
then,>" he says to Alto, stubborn to the end. But... "<Go.>" ...now there's a
chance.
"Get going, Alto! You've still got a promise to keep!" Sheryl adds.
Despite her forceful tone, her own breathing is labored by now, and her vision
is blurring at the edges, and she tastes blood at the back of her throat--so
she'll push him to the very end.
The Holo-Grace(s) seem content to let all this happen, continuing to
transmit to the various ships in the fleet--though no doubt there are many
who've dismissed her transmissions. She's equally content to get evicted from
the ships; she just wanted to gloat a little, that's all. She has other things
she's doing.
That said, when Rami and Sagiri call her out in their respective ways,
Holo-Grace chuckles. "Oh? Using the most of the ones you're managing is all
part of the job. Didn't you know that?" she taunts. "I suppose not,
considering the lack of business sense you've shown as Sheryl's 'client'--or
common sense, in thinking you're in a position to 'let me off' anything!" She
scoffs at Rin's own transmission, and adds, "Or confuse me with a mere
office lady!"
Flay's defiant transmission gets a mocking little laugh. "It's cute how
you think you'll have a choice in the matter," the Holo-Grace on her
transmissions remarks.
Tabizan shoots a more straightforward insult her way. It might be a
random SAL mech, but Grace is very good at information reception and
dissemination. Her image curls a lip at her i a flash of anger. "I'm surprised
you even know what a mirror is. It's clear you've never used one before!"
A pity Aisha keeps her opinion to herself. Insidious or otherwise,
Grace would accept the acknowledgement of her genius. (A very good thing Aisha
keeps her opinion to herself.)
At last, though, in the wake of Alto and Brera's duel, Holo-Grace
transmits with mock anger in her pouting voice, "Oh my, you broke one of my
toys." She shrugs broadly, arms out in a shrug. "Oh well. I don't actually
need Antares-1 anymore; he was just a convenient tool for controlling the
Little Queen. There are countless insects left to take his place in combat
besides." Her smile grows, Grinch-like. "Dying stranded and alone in space
suits one of Ranshe's hateful little children."
"Ranshe?" Sheryl repeats.
"<The mystery woman in the photo... we found on the Global. Our
mother,>" Brera transmits.
Realization--and horror--dawns on Sheryl's expression. "Wait... She was
with--my grandmother," she utters. "Grace! Taking me in--controlling Ranka and
Brera--was all that out of some kind of grudge against our families?!" She
breaks into a momentary cough, but this time, she gets it under control enough
to croak, "What kind of petty monster are you?!"
"Shut up, Sheryl!" Holo-Grace snaps, violet eyes suddenly wild. "You
have NO IDEA what I lost because Dr. Mao listened to her and not me!!"
She catches herself, and her mien smooths out. "But it doesn't matter anymore.
Soon I'll have my revenge--against them, against the Vajra--and everyone
will know I was right all along!" Her gaze intensifies. "And then they'll all
know the hell I had to endure!!"
(So she's that kind of petty monster. Got it.)
KTS: Rose Tritten fails to engage Evade against Mobile Weapons Team's BP-01a 55mm Beam Gun Pinpoint Targeting!
KTS: Best Defense! Rose Tritten successfully reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's BP-01a 55mm Beam Gun Pinpoint Targeting, taking 4500 damage!
KTS: Rin Naujakaite engages evade against Mobile Weapons Team's ROV-25 25mm Beam Guns Pinned Down!
KTS: Best Defense! Rin Naujakaite successfully reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's ROV-25 25mm Beam Guns Pinned Down, taking 300 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
Ranka can't hear what's going on upon the bridge of the Battle Frontier, but if
she were not in this situation. If she were not currently dreaming a song to
the Vajra, and witnessed the drama of Leon's arrest, and Catherine Glass'
break up, she'd go:
'Good for her. She deserves better.'
(She did always like her.)
The blue streak is growing closer. The hue of purple dimmer, behind it, and
Ranka's eyes begin to open subtly.
Enough of this. I have just enough control now that you need not be aware of
anything else.
And in that moment, fold space changes for Ranka, to the image of that woman
again, that she saw in the sky of Gallia IV, something the Vajra showed her.
Now she knows the context, in that visage of the woman in the sky.
Mother...
You're doing so well, my child.
Sing with me... we'll defend this world together...
Ranka focused in, but not on what she was before, her lip trembled, and as that
image began to sing, she felt compelled to sing with her, like the nostalgia
of a child learning the words for the first time, from listening to her mother
sing along to a tune.
Do you remember? The time when our eyes first met?
"Do you remember? The time when our eyes first met?
Do you remember? The time when our hands first touched?
"Do you remember? The time when our hands first touched?
That was the very first time I set out on the journey of love.
"That was the very first time I set out on the journey of love.
I love you so.
"I love you-"
Ranka I'm coming!
That pierced the cloud covered sky, and for a moment the enormous Half-Zentradi
woman looked- annoyed for a moment, different from the nostalgia of a loving
mother.
In reality, Ranka's lips parted, as she asked the question, "Alto...?" Her
eyes half-lidding...
Pay him no mind.
Ranka's eyes began to lull again, but as they did, she asked the question.
Mother... do you love me?
What kind of question is that? Of course I-
Then can I stop singing?
... Soon my child, soo-
I don't want to sing like this." Her lips spoke in tandem now, like she was
waking up again.
That's why I sang alone for so long. Because I was scared of singing like this
again. Because of what happened... I don't want to sing like this anymore."
She said again, as her red eyes showed more awareness now, looking around the
chamber she was in.
The woman in the sky spoke, but now it was like she was too distant for Ranka
to hear her. As she said instead, looking beyond the walls of the Battle
Galaxy.
"I want to sing with her."
She said less drowsily but now she wasn't just seeing what was in front of her
in reality. She saw everything. She saw that image of Brera beyond, holding
his face. She saw Alto, in his moment of triumph, a brilliant blue. She saw
Sheryl, in dying hues of crimson, still flickering defiantly.
"I want to be with them."
"You miserable, ungrateful child. I never had to make this process as
comfortable as it's been so far." A holo screen appeared in the chamber where
she's at, as Grace appears upon it to speak to her directly. "I knew I should
have implanted you and been done with it. There were concerns it would render
you less capable but- we're beyond considerations of efficacy."
And behind her, she heard the descent of something mechanical into the chamber,
she could not turn her neck to see it but something came so easily for her
now, as easily as breathing as she reaches out beyond-
Alto... please hurry...
-ordinarily she'd want to not feel so scared to him, but she absolutely is.
KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro engages guard against Mobile Weapons Team's Beam Array Full Complement!
KTS: Critical Hit! Astarte Spalding-Monteiro poorly guards Mobile Weapons Team's Beam Array Full Complement, taking 4875 damage!
KTS: Shinji Kaminaga engages charge against Mobile Weapons Team's ROV-25 25mm Beam Guns Pinned Down!
KTS: Shinji Kaminaga's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage. KTS: Shinji Kaminaga poorly reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's ROV-25 25mm Beam Guns Pinned Down, taking 3600 damage!
KTS: Leon Sakaki engages charge against Mobile Weapons Team's ROV-20 20mm Beam Guns Rapid Barrage!
KTS: Leon Sakaki's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Leon Sakaki moderately reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's ROV-20 20mm Beam Guns Rapid Barrage, taking 3660 damage! <Pose Tracker> Astarte Spalding-Monteiro has posed.
"'Bout time we got some backup around here!" Astarte chuckles into the
open comms as the calvary rides in. The relief is short-lived before the ship
shakes from the Galaxy's attack, the enemy deciding that it was time for them
to stop resting.
"Break time's over, people. Battle stations! Algernon, begin evasive
maneuvers. Jenais, weapons online. Tritten Team, wash it down and get out
there!"
The One Fine Day turns towards the Battle Galaxy, beginning its charge
forward as Astarte squints from the captain's chair. "Fire the railguns."
"Roger! Ready railguns!" Jenais pipes up, readying the railguns before
they fire off a shot at the Galaxy.
KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro targets Mobile Weapons Team with 66mm Dual Railgun Shot!
<Pose Tracker> Tabizan Tilgez has posed.
The Queadluun-Vargal raises one hand at Flay's words...
...and wiggles its fingers in a wave. Tabizan can tell when she's being
scanned; it set off one of her alerts. Maybe that counts as an agreement to
put it off for later? She doesn't lock on with her missiles or anything, so
it's probably fine.
Tabizan wasn't expecting a response from Grace. Certainly not one that makes
her suspect she hit a nerve. If she taunts her is she going to distract her
from whatever she's planning? Worth a shot. "If you're fishing for a picture,
you've lost your chance," Tabby says in response. "I'm a bit too much for you
to handle right now!"
She switches back to her side's radio, responding to Rin, "Right? What part of
us looks like a worm? ...Don't answer that."
There's another pause, this time as the Ghosts dive in. Tabizan rolls left, the
backpack-like Wizard Pack's secondary thrusters shoving her quite a long way
horizontally at the same time as she rolls. It's not enough to clear her out
of the missile barrage entirely, but the Queadluun-Vargal's metal flares with
light and colour on impact - Phase Shift Armour, triggering with every
explosion. The unit looks in pretty good shape afterwards; mostly Tabby is a
little rattled inside.
Tabizan's response is twofold. First, a cluster of missiles, discharged into
the swarming drones. She had very few lock-ons but it forces them to scatter
and spread, clearing a patch for her to dive through - and at the same time,
she reaches out by radio.
"I know some of you have your problems with ZAFT," Tabby says, 'on' again. "But
in this we're united! ZAFT and Cathedra and..." A beat as she thinks of the
best way to put it, and settles for describing Flay as "Independent. Come on,
let's fight together and show her exactly what we think of her smug attitude!"
At the same time, Tabby starts up an ad-hoc tactical network, passing
information back and forth - she must be used to serving as squad coordinator,
but even if her words are not inspiring, her hookup is pretty good for weapons
targeting.
KTS: Tabizan Tilgez targets Rin Naujakaite, Flay Allster, and Rose Tritten with Awe!
KTS: Rin Naujakaite accepts Tabizan Tilgez's Awe! KTS: Tabizan Tilgez inspires awe, increasing Rin Naujakaite's Morale! KTS: Best Defense! Rin Naujakaite successfully reacts to Tabizan Tilgez's Awe, taking 0 damage!
KTS: Rose Tritten accepts Tabizan Tilgez's Awe! KTS: Tabizan Tilgez inspires awe, increasing Rose Tritten's Morale! KTS: Best Defense! Rose Tritten successfully reacts to Tabizan Tilgez's Awe, taking 0 damage!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team engages guard against Astarte Spalding-Monteiro's 66mm Dual Railgun Shot!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage. KTS: Mobile Weapons Team moderately guards Astarte Spalding-Monteiro's 66mm Dual Railgun Shot, taking 2895 damage! <Pose Tracker> Leon Sakaki has posed.
The YF-30 streaks through space like a bullet as Leon takes stock of the
battle, taking a breath to steady himself as the Ghosts swarm out. Only a few
meters to go. Aisha's voice crackles over the radio.
"They're arresting the President. We're clear to go!" Leon smirks. There's only
enough room for one Leon on this battlefield, and his surname is Sakaki! The
first Ghost streaks towards him, its erratic flight pattern scrambling missile
lock. It unleashes a burst of fire from its machine guns, and Leon opts to
punch the Pinpoint Barrier to maximum and charge right through. The
projectiles rake across the body, but the craft is still intact - no major
damage. Leon swings the plane into place, legs popping out from the bottom as
the Gunpod glows, firing two shots to lead the Ghost into position and then a
third to nail it.
"Now I've got you!"
"Get him, Skull 4! You've got a job to do!" Ozma cheers. Ozma's got one of his
own to do, because he'd sure like to give Grace a piece of his mind. As Luca
re-emerges from the Quarter in his proper Messiah, the Skulls and Pixies
spread out in formation.
"We're gonna take Ranka back, you manipulative bitch!"
KTS: Leon Sakaki targets Mobile Weapons Team with Heavy Quantum Beam Gun Pod Leading Shot!
<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.
Ghosts. Why'd it have to be Ghosts?
Sagiri knows them; it's hard to exist in the mobile weapons business,
especially as a test pilot for one of the biggest arms manufacturers in the
Earth Sphere, and -not- have heard of these heinous little monsters.
AI-controlled drone fighters, capable of ludicrous speeds and reprehensible
violence. She'd thought the development of a successor had been delayed
indefinitely, but, well.
The Galaxy seems to be full of tons of fun secrets.
<"M-ma'am--!">
<"I know! I'm on it--!">
Micromissiles alight the twinkling void of space like a volley of arrows
blotting out the skies. The Tyranado's twin saving graces are its speed, and
the fact that the Ghosts' attentions are divided: optics blazing phantasmal
greens, the VTX prototype jukes seamlessly rightward, the spin of its body
forming a graceful dance of zig-zagging, blaze-blue patterns as it darts and
weaves in between seeking, pin-point missile fire. Beam fire lights the sky as
it unholsters its bayonets to soundlessly shoot down several incoming warheads
-- but several come in too close, too fast, and the resultant explosions bake
at the surface of the Tyranado's chestpiece, rocking Sagiri and Rami violently
within.
<"Rami! You okay?">
<"Y-yes, ma'am!"> Rami exhales. She looks shaken by the close shave -- but that
determination and fire in her eyes has not dampened in the slightest.
<"Ma'am... we can't stop here. If Colonel Godunwa gets what she's after, then
the repercussions will--">
<"Don't worry, Rami,"> begins Sagiri Sakurai, full of fiery passion.
<"All of that crap is way above my paygrade, and I didn't follow a single bit
of it!">
<"...">
<"...">
<"...">
<"... Pathetic, ma'am.">
<"But what I -do know-,"> Sagiri Sakurai continues boldly on past Amies'
scathing judgment, <"Is that I've got a job to do. And even if I didn't--">
<"-- there's no way in hell I'd let a woman like that get -anything- she wants!
Carriax -- open up a path for the Tyranado and Nauje! Rin, get ready -- we're
pushing the offensive as hard as we can!">
<"Understood, ma'am! Firing missiles!">
<"And just like that, she barely turns it around. That's our manager.">
<"Eheh-heh!">
<"What? What'd I say--??">
Regardless of the ongoing banter, the Tyranado continues to move; even as Grace
turns her baleful attention on the VTX team, the Tyranado -pushes- through,
-straight- towards the flurry of Ghosts. It seems like a suicide rush -- save
for the fact that the Carriax careens past above soon enough. As its missile
bays open and unload, Sagiri's eyes narrow, her grip on her controls
tightening as her lips pull into a thin line.
'Using the most of the ones you're managing is all part of the job. Didn't you
know that?' ...
<"Oh, don't worry, we read that loud and clear! And y'know what? You're right!
You're completely different from a 'mere office lady'! After all--"> The
Tyranado pivots, blazing a trail through lines of Ghost drones as missile fire
courtesy of the Carriax rains down behind them, intending to intercept those
drones and help open a path towards the Galaxy. <"-- even a 'mere office lady'
could see how special Sheryl is! Even a 'mere office lady' could tell that her
and Ranka deserve to have their talent fostered, not exploited! A 'mere office
lady' would want them to use their own voice, because that's when it sounds
the most beautiful! So, y'know what? A 'mere office lady' is ten times the
woman you are! And furthermore--">
<"--you NEVER deserved a client and -person- as wonderful as Ms. Nome!!">
<"You heard her! So you better pucker up, 'Grace'--">
How can Sagiri make someone's name sound like an ironic insult? Why--
<"--because I've got the meanest right hook this side of the galaxy with your
name on it!">
it's just the result of a salarywoman's righteous power when furious, of course.
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai targets Mobile Weapons Team with Carriax Cover Fire!
<Pose Tracker> Shinji Kaminaga has posed.
"AI-driven combat craft," Asami observes. "Mixed armaments...ugh, I'm an
intelligence analyst, not military."
"Do not fear, Agent Asami," Volfogg assures her. "I will process the tactical
data and relay as required. This vessel is more than capable of that."
Asami grunts, tucks a lock of hair behind her ear...and grabs her own butt,
sucking in a deep breath. "Right! Comms, then!"
*
Ultraman soars frictionlessly across the distance. He whirls as he approaches,
corkscrewing forward; a faint luminous sheen gathers around him, causing
attacks from the Ghosts to ping off him harmlessly while he relentlessly
covers distance, converging rapidly on the Battle Galaxy. But what will
Ultraman do when he gets there? Is he so ruthless as to destroy the whole
ship? His unspeaking mask says nothing.
But as he draws near, he moves nimbly, suddenly breaking from his flight stance
to juke around an oncoming Ghost, then sweep his tremendous hand out and
simply swat another out of the sky, before whirling about nearly too-fast for
his tremendous frame to strike at another. With no apparent propulsion, he
reorients on the Battle Galaxy and charges anew.
*
"Report from Battle Galaxy, they've just...impeached and arrested the
president?? Damn, hell of a time for that," Asami says, running down comms
lines and battle data looking for the vital sparks of battlefield
intelligence. "...and our friend the Colonel sounds like she's getting
desperate..." Tsk. "If we just had a hand in play..."
"We'll have to trust that to our comrades, this time," Volfogg says, with a
hardened veteran's resolve. "Believe in their courage. It will not fail them."
KTS: Shinji Kaminaga targets Mobile Weapons Team with Spacium Skill Combat! KTS: Shinji Kaminaga has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
<Pose Tracker> Rose Tritten has posed.
Rose's ZAKU is first out of the One Fine Day's launcher, quickly followed by
her teammates. Almost immediately, the trio are bounced by the swirling,
autonomous fighters, slicing through and around their ranks like angry bees.
%"Well...at least it's not the bugs!" Sushila says as she narrowly dodges one
of the arrowhead like drones. "Though they're pretty close. Damn, they're
fast!"
With a swing proceeding grinding metal and beam energy, Aspyn's Beam Axe neatly
bisects the drone Sushila dodged right down the middle, the two parts
spiraling into the void before exploding."Meh, I've seen like, faster!" Aspyn
chuckled.
Rose's RADAR warning receiver alerted her that she had been locked on to, as
sprays of beam fire whipped around her. One of the Ghosts screamed in just a
little too close, and Rose took the opportunity to drop an axe kick down onto
it, smashing it apart as she blasted away from the explosion. She watched as
another rolled in for a pass. Tabbizan's words come in over the radio.
"Sure...but we all know that out here, ZAFT are the ones to beat!" Rose
smirks. Her pipper leveled on, the drone and locked in red. A spray of beam
fire erupted forth from the Beam Machine Gun's muzzle!
KTS: Rose Tritten targets Mobile Weapons Team with MMI-M633 Beam Assault Rifle Maneuver Shot!
<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.
The first thing Rin notices is a signal from Rancor, a digital sound that she
knows is how he complains about things when he's being salty about something.
Rin's eyes track upwards in her cockpit, squinting as she sees distant little
lights which the Gespenst zeroes in on. Magnify... magnify...
"These people just don't know how to treat computers," Rin says, shaking her
head slightly. There's another digital sound from Rancor, who gets a 'hush' in
response. Then, "Strike that - sorry, Rancor, these ARE Ghosts!" Rin amends:
"Those are Ghosts."
A little frivolity keeps her mind in order. Back towards Tabizan's reply, she
answers, chattily, "You don't have to convince me, lollll, I'm trying to keep
my stuff together but I grew up a secret Coordinator in Britannia so it was
messed uuuuuup, like, the racial stuff was off the orbit like waow --hold on"
Her voice shifts as Grace speaks... and even speaks to her.
Something about it makes Rin feel small. Grace is a figure of power, after all,
even if she isn't a figure of moral goodness in any way, shape or form. "You
know," she answers Grace, "I feel bad, for everything you've gone through,
but, like, you're making it THE PROBLEM OF AN ENTIRE FLEET instead of, I don't
know, blogging or customizing a Knightmare about it so I don't have very MUCH
sympathy--" This is definitely anxiety babble.
Her eyes lift up to the Ghosts -- a lancing incoming effort of beam guns that
SHOULD box her in, even if it might not instantly obliterate her -- except
Rancor bodychecks the Gespenst!! Enough that there is a loud CLANG through the
cockpit, a "guh" from Rin, and then:
"Oh, so that's what you meant. Permission granted! Mess 'em up and I'll catch
up!" Somewhere around the first phoneme of 'mess' in that sentence, Rancor lit
up one of his single-use solid-fuel thrust boosters and arced towards the
Ghosts, juking slightly and tumbling around even as the thrust concludes...
Rancor, you see, remembers when he was in that kind of a body. He may not know
everything the Ghosts can do. But for all his whining about wanting a PPB
again... he also knew the limits. And so, while toppling, he suddenly lashes
out with both fore and aft limbs when two Ghosts come close together, each of
them smashing down with industrial force to drive a tapered tip into wing or
fuselage.
At that point, the rest is rather academic.
KTS: Rin Naujakaite has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Rin Naujakaite targets Mobile Weapons Team with Rancor - Sic 'Em! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team engages evade against Leon Sakaki's Heavy Quantum Beam Gun Pod Leading Shot!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage. KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team moderately reacts to Leon Sakaki's Heavy Quantum Beam Gun Pod Leading Shot, taking 0 damage! <Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.
The commotion surrounding the Frontier Fleet's president catches Flay's
attention, and she can only listen as the President is arrested, and dumped by
his fiance all at once. She doesn't remark on it... but considering the kind
of relationship it was, it can only be a good thing.
Holo-Grace's mocking remark, however, earns a scowl from Flay, displeased that
this woman would dismiss her words to the point that they're nothing more than
'cute'. "If you won't give me the choice... then I'm prepared to fight for
it!" She declares - it's why she's in the Strike E at all, after all. Of
course, Grace also has the will to fight for the future she wants, and the
power to do so with her army of Ghosts.
The VFs, flying in with speeds that'd even make a Coordinator uneasy, offer
little time to react. The Strike E's targeting computer catches sight of the
swarm of micromissiles first, responding with an automatic burst of CIWS fire
with the head vulcans. Unable to intercept all of them, the rest of the
missiles detonate in close proximity to the Phase Shift Armour - enough to
disorient the machine, but avoiding any severe damage. A Murasame gets caught
in the crossfire, losing its weapon arm.
"Tsk... I can barely get a lock on these things," She mutters, as the Ghosts
zip in and out of targeting range of her beam rifle's targeting scope.
Tabizan, on the other hand is performing her role admirably, attempting to
rally together their little group of disparate factions. Of course she has her
misgivings with ZAFT... but Flay's learned by now that they aren't just
monsters who killed her father.
"I hear you. I think we all want the same thing right now... and none of it
will matter if she gets her way. So let's make sure she doesn't!" After all,
this is a problem even Ultraman will answer to. On her end, Tabizan's
targeting data certainly helps a lot too. Flay decides to opt for her
railguns, which extend from the Striker Pack past the shoulders, slamming out
two fast shots straight towards a nearby Ghost.
KTS: Flay Allster accepts Tabizan Tilgez's Awe! KTS: Tabizan Tilgez inspires awe, increasing Flay Allster's Morale! KTS: Best Defense! Flay Allster successfully reacts to Tabizan Tilgez's Awe, taking 0 damage!
KTS: [Spiritual Adjustment] Flay Allster's Love and Hatred activates, and her spirit is adjusted further!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage intercept against Sagiri Sakurai's Carriax Cover Fire!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage. KTS: Mobile Weapons Team poorly reacts to Sagiri Sakurai's Carriax Cover Fire, taking 2525 damage!
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai repulses Mobile Weapons Team, preventing him from Charging the next attack!
KTS: Flay Allster's SEED Factor activates! KTS: Flay Allster targets Mobile Weapons Team with 115mm Railgun Burst! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team engages evade against Shinji Kaminaga's Spacium Skill Combat!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage. KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Shinji Kaminaga's Spacium Skill Combat, taking 0 damage!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage Evade against Rose Tritten's MMI-M633 Beam Assault Rifle Maneuver Shot!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage. KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Rose Tritten's MMI-M633 Beam Assault Rifle Maneuver Shot, taking 2175 damage!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage evade against Rin Naujakaite's Rancor - Sic 'Em!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage. KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Rin Naujakaite's Rancor - Sic 'Em, taking 2025 damage!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage charge against Flay Allster's 115mm Railgun Burst!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage. KTS: [Spirit Defense] Mobile Weapons Team's Heart of Fire activates, and his spirit endures.
KTS: Flay Allster enervates Mobile Weapons Team, reducing his Morale significantly.
KTS: Critical Hit! Mobile Weapons Team poorly reacts to Flay Allster's 115mm Railgun Burst, taking 3410 damage!
KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Flay Allster's Fight Until You Die activates, causing Deject! KTS: Flay Allster repulses Mobile Weapons Team, preventing him from Charging the next attack!
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
The Sentinel impacts against the Lucifer with an attack that is definitely not
a Gekigan Flare, quickly backing up again... Just in case it doesn't work. If
it doesn't, Alto isn't sure how he's going to get through to that thick-headed
cyborg...
Thankfully though, it doesn't seem like he has to worry about it as
Brera proceeds to thank him. Alto hmphs in response, <"I didn't do it for
you."> There's definitely no love lost between these two. But Alto wouldn't be
able to face Ranka if he'd left her brother to that fate...
Though Brera still telling him to 'prove it' is making Alto rethink
that.
Still, it does remind Alto that he has more important things to do than
bother with Brera any further. He spins his machine around, quickly switching
back into fighter mode and then blasting off in the direction of the Battle
Galaxy in the distance. In response to Sheryl he says, <"I know. I'll bring
her back to us.">
'Oh my, you broke one of my toys,'
Alto narrows his eyes as Grace's voice echoes from his speakers. He
doesn't understand the grudge she seems to have with Ranka's family, not being
fully aware of their history. But it doesn't matter as Alto snorts, <"I don't
give a damn about him or your grudge against their family. If you hurt Ranka,
I'll stop at nothing to hunt you to the ends of the galaxy, you crazy bitch.">
It's then that he hears it, through the fold quartz on his ear, through
the Sentinel's system that he's resonating with...
'Alto... please hurry...'
<"Quarter! Everyone! I need covering fire... I'm going in!">
-=-=-=-=-
The combined fleet of now allied FDF, SAL, Terminal, and other vessels
are starting to unload their weapons against the Battle Galaxy. The larger
warship suffers somewhat under the assault, its strong pinpoint barrier
flaring up at the impacts from the weapons against it.
The One Fine Day's railgun cannons have a similar result, the shots
smashing into that barrier and losing some of their impact before striking the
warship's armor proper. The Macross class vessels are known to be powerful and
the number of attacks that the Battle Galaxy is enduring prove that. But the
famous flagships of the colonization fleets are not invincible, it just takes
some effort.
As for the Ghosts, they begin falling to the counterfire. The agile
little craft are more than capable of taking out smaller fry and in fact have
been taking the lives of quite a few of the fleet's pilots as they approach
the Battle Galaxy. But even their unrestricted AIs have trouble against the
more skilled pilots arrayed against them.
Gunpod fire from Leon starts ripping through Ghosts, tearing the
smaller craft apart. But where one falls, two more show up to engage him.
Evidently Grace and the Battle Galaxy have been planning this for a while and
without the need to worry about finding and training pilots, they certainly
have numbers on their side.
The Carriax's missiles are met by the Ghosts' own micro-missiles in a
dazzling display of explosions in the emptiness of space. But more than a few
of the Carriax's missiles make it through the counterbarrage, exploding amidst
groups of the Ghosts and blasting their debris across this part of orbit.
The initial Ghost swatted by Ultraman breaks apart rapidly. But as he
continues to unleash moves against them, the AIs seem to have learned quickly,
darting out of the way as they continue to harass him.
On the other hand, the trio of ZAKUs work well together as beam axe and
beam fire rip into the darty little machines. Perhaps their programming isn't
quite as effective at taking on a well coordinated team?
In a battle of the AIs, it seems like Rancor has the advantage, arms
lashing out to crush a pair of Ghosts. Hopefully he's not too concerned about
taking out his fellows like that. Though to be fair, they have no problem
going after him.
The Ghosts darting around Flay's machine are quick, though if one
watches closely they can see the mechanical pattern behind their movements.
They are still machines after all. And whether by luck or skill, Flay is able
to find the opportunity she needs, putting a pair of railgun rounds through
not just one Ghost, but they quickly continue on to impact into a second that
had flown behind its comrade at the same time. A two for one!
The battle is drawing closer to the Battle Galaxy as the fleet
approaches it and the stream of Ghosts seems unending. Even as they are
destroyed, more continue to launch from within the Battle Galaxy's large
hangars.
Those with a keen eye--or just attentive systems--may be concerned
though as some of those new Ghosts launching have some ominous missiles
attached to their wings. The orange tips and hazard signs on the side are well
known amongst anyone who knows anything about weaponry.
Reaction Warheads.
Sure enough, the newly reinforcing Ghosts start to unleash their
payloads towards part of the approaching fleet. Mini-suns blossom in space for
a few moments from the fusion reactions that come from the detonations.
The rest of the fleet is not entirely spared either as the Battle
Galaxy begins to target them with a greater variety of its own weapons fire.
-=-=-=-=-
As for the Macross Quarter, the warship is rapidly on approach to the
Battle Galaxy. The latter's turrets continue to send beams of light lancing
out across space towards the smaller vessel. Under the deft hands of its
pilot, the Macross Quarter is able swiftly weave its way through the majority
of the shots, only catching the occasional blast which causes its pinpoint
barrier to flare up.
The atmosphere on the bridge of the Quarter is rather tense, not only
because they are battling for their lives and the galaxy right now, but also
because of the clear insanity of the one they're facing off against. They've
all had interactions with Grace O'Connor in the past, though generally only in
passing while interacting with Sheryl. But there was no sign of this level of
megalomaniacal ambition.
Still, as the transmissions from Grace reveal some of what happened in
the past, Monica muses to the rest, "So she, Ranka's mother and Sheryl's
grandmother all worked together researching the Vajra... Small world."
"Until they drew too much attention to their actions and the Vajra
attacked," Catherine continues, feeling a little more relieved now that she's
officially dropped that asshole of a fiance.
Mina wonders aloud, "So wait... Did we start the war or did they?"
At the helm of the Quarter, Bobby is sweating just a little as he
weaves his way through the large scale fire from the Battle Galaxy. "Girls,
can we focus please?"
Thankfully, Ram reports, "Skull-4 is requesting cover fire."
Captain Wilder grunts, "Do it."
The Quarter unleashes its own counter barrage of fire from its larger
cannons, which streak in towards the Battle Galaxy.
The Sentinel then comes sweeping in a moment afterwards, using the fire
from the Quarter to charge through the fleet of Ghosts and head straight
towards the Battle Galaxy. Although it's been suffering fire from the alliance
of ships attacking it, its pinpoint barrier is still strong and Alto has
nothing that can punch through in one go.
But thankfully that's not the plan.
The plan is far crazier than that.
Alto is sweating as he tries to focus. He has no idea what he's doing
in regards to the abilities that the Sentinel's new found freedom has brought
about. He's mostly been acting on instinct. This time though he's trying to do
it intentionally... And if he fails, it could be very messy!
'Ranka...' In his brief vision, Alto saw her trapped and where... Will
it be enough? Another fold port opens ahead of the Sentinel and it dives into
it-
-only to reappear INSIDE the Battle Galaxy, in the chamber that Ranka
is being held in! The Sentinel quickly switches to GERWALK mode as its legs
kick up to stop its momentum, skating around the walls of the chamber. Its
hand swiftly retrieves the knife from its shield, swooping around to lash out
and sever the devices encroaching on Ranka from behind.
The turret in the Sentinel's frame rises up and spins, unleashing a
blast into the structure above Ranka, freeing her from the binds that hold
her. The Valkyrie then flies up to Ranka, the canopy opening and Alto standing
to reach out, "Ranka!"
As their hands meet, Alto pulls her into a hug and holds on tightly,
"I'm never letting you go again!"
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Leon Sakaki with Beam Array Full Complement! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Flay Allster with OTEC Converging Energy Cannon!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Rin Naujakaite with Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Tabizan Tilgez with OTEC Converging Energy Cannon!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Rose Tritten with Reaction Warheads! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Sagiri Sakurai with Reaction Warheads! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Shinji Kaminaga with Reaction Warheads! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Astarte Spalding-Monteiro with Reaction Warheads!
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Alto reassures her, and Sheryl smiles in relief. She has no doubt, of
course. But watching the Sentinel zip off towards the Battle Galaxy is...
reassuring.
It's not just Alto that hears Ranka's whisper, though. Sheryl's eyes
widen, and her earring sways with light, as she hears it: 'Alto... please
hurry...' "Ranka!" she gasps, reaching out to the air as if she could reach
her.
But another coughing fit interrupts her, harsher than the last, and she
crumples on the empty stage. Her breath is weak and wet, and instinctively,
she knows this is it.
It's all over, she thinks in despair, her vision beginning to blur
into darkness, her aura seeming a deeper and bloodier red by the second.
I... can't.....
~ * ~
Alto threatens Grace over Ranka. "How ironic," Holo-Grace muses to
herself, seemingly apropos of nothing. She sneers at Alto from the Sentinel's
screens all the same. "Ignorance is a sin, you know. How long do you think
this has been going on--and still you want to position yourself as a white
knight? Pathetic."
Of course, implying that not only had she hurt Ranka, but she's been
hurting her for a while now, may not be the flex Grace wants to make on Alto
right now.
Ozma follows up in a similar vein, and Holo-Grace laughs coldly. "And
there's another useless white knight. Just save your breath--you don't even
have anything interesting to say."
The one who can claim that distinction is Sagiri; they are, after
all, in the same field, more or less. It's useful when you can speak the same
language. It might be pointless to go into how Grace feels about it, just
as it would be pointless to go into how she feels about Sheryl. At this point,
it doesn't change anything. Grace knows that very well. But her image narrows
her eyes as Sagiri and Rami go into their own strong feelings for her former
charge. And the language Sagiri uses is... Ten times the woman she is--is it?
"How cute," she says, beyond icy into glacial. Despite her dismissive
words, that's anger, not mockery in her voice. "I can't wait to see a little
no-nothing like you learn what you 'deserve' and what you 'get' have nothing
to do with one another. In fact--" Her focus turns from Rami to Sagiri. "Why
don't you come give me that 'meanest right hook' of yours? I'll teach it to
you two personally!!"
There's a moment of silence at Rin's anxiety babble, where she
indicates she actually does have sympathy for her implied troubles. The
Holo-Grace only stares at her, eyes slightly widened. Then she makes a low,
annoyed 'tch' sound as her eyes narrow. She doesn't respond to her directly,
but when she addresses Flay, she does so with force: "Then come fight all you
can. I'll show you how useless it all is!"
That rising irritation reaches its peak with Tabby's taunts. "Oh my,
you're that hideous? How awful for you," Holo-Grace mock-simpers at her,
an edge to her voice. "I'll just take your word for it, then." Now her
transmissions cut off--of course a woman this awful would guarantee she'd get
the last word--but at least this means Tabby and the others can focus on the
fight. And between everyone, it did seem like they'd hit a nerve there...
...enough of a nerve-touch that, combined with the decisive move she
begins to make on Ranka at the heart of the Battle Galaxy, it distracts her
just long enough from Alto's mini-fold inside, giving him the opening he needs
to blast away Ranka's constraints. "Wha--?!" As he catches Ranka and pulls her
into into a hug, Grace snarls, "How dare you!!"
Better run quick.
KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro engages intercept against Mobile Weapons Team's Reaction Warheads!
KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro poorly reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Reaction Warheads, taking 5800 damage!
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai fails to engage intercept against Mobile Weapons Team's Reaction Warheads!
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai moderately reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Reaction Warheads, taking 7295 damage!
KTS: Tabizan Tilgez engages guard against Mobile Weapons Team's OTEC Converging Energy Cannon!
KTS: Tabizan Tilgez moderately guards Mobile Weapons Team's OTEC Converging Energy Cannon, taking 3575 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
"Alto!" Grace has enough wherewithal to try and activate something
cybernetically, but it's too late. The Sentinel skates on by, close enough
that Ranka herself feels herself snapped taut against her bonds, but then the
bonds are partially severed, as Ranka covers her ears at the sound of the
turret spitting fire.
The canopy opens, and Ranka kicks at the final loop twice, "EH!" And for some
reason, it glows as she does so, dissipating fully in a haze of fold light, as
she dives down into Alto's arms, embracing him, "I knew you'd come for me-!
I'm so sorry I-" However, she might feel though about seeing him again, about
giving Grace a piece of her mind as she declares how dare he...
... there's something else she feels in that moment.
Ranka-
It's all over...
I... can't.....
And her expression grows subtly tense, "There's a lot I need to say but... I
can feel her - Sheryl's almost..." Then with sudden resolution on her
features, she tells him, "...Fly me back! I know what to do. I understand
now!"
And as she leaps down into the back of his cockpit. "This is going to feel
strange, but whatever happens, keep flying-!"
Sheryl-!
It's like a pull, a draw, ordinarily she always needed music to make even a
tenuous connection, but now she doesn't, it emanates off of her like a wave,
resonating with the three of them like a heartbeat between earring - and
memories like a song.
An event horizon of light and sound that draws them in. It's a peculiar
sensation, one moment to be tangible, and another to be in another place all
at once. Alto will find himself able to still fly, while feeling decidedly
out of body at the same time as space moves around him.
It's a little unnerving at first, but it begins to feel more natural the longer
they're here.
Don't go. Don't leave us! Don't leave... me. You have to fight that pull.
I can tell them to stop only for so long...
The battlefield is below them - between them. Perspective is strange here.
She can see the Tyranado, fighting. She can feel the passion of Sagiri calling
Sheryl special to Grace's face. Of another Zentradi fighting out there in
Tabizan... of Brera - that thin thread of connection as he holds his face,
that injury that saved him from Grace. She can feel Ozma-(Does he use that
language all the time in battle? Talk later, focus now.) Of Astarte and the
crew of the one Fine Day. Of the Tritten team too...
All of those feelings of lives caught in the balance, she rode onward, through
this space towards her. And Ranka despite being half a battlefield away, is in
front of Sheryl
The luminous green effigy of Ranka's spirit reaches across to her a hand.
... but only if you push back too. Long enough for Alto to bring me to you.
It has to be a decision, to fight. Just like it's a decision to stand on the
stage each and every time. This time manifesting as a hand for her to take.
I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye before. Please don't give me a reason to say it
now.
KTS: Rose Tritten engages evade against Mobile Weapons Team's Reaction Warheads! KTS: Rose Tritten successfully reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Reaction Warheads, taking 6515 damage!
KTS: Flay Allster engages guard against Mobile Weapons Team's OTEC Converging Energy Cannon!
KTS: Best Defense! Flay Allster successfully guards Mobile Weapons Team's OTEC Converging Energy Cannon, taking 3225 damage!
KTS: Shinji Kaminaga has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Leon Sakaki engages evade against Mobile Weapons Team's Beam Array Full Complement!
KTS: Leon Sakaki's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Critical Hit! Leon Sakaki poorly reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Beam Array Full Complement, taking 5400 damage!
KTS: Shinji Kaminaga engages guard against Mobile Weapons Team's Reaction Warheads!
KTS: Shinji Kaminaga's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage. KTS: Best Defense! Shinji Kaminaga successfully guards Mobile Weapons Team's Reaction Warheads, taking 4150 damage!
KTS: Rin Naujakaite has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Rin Naujakaite engages evade against Mobile Weapons Team's Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx!
KTS: Best Defense! Rin Naujakaite moderately reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx, taking 0 damage! <Pose Tracker> Astarte Spalding-Monteiro has posed.
"Warheads incoming!"
"Intercept!" The CIWS opens fire at the warheads, but the ship still
takes the brunt of the attack.
"Shields at 43%, Captain!"
"This thing isn't messing around, huh?" Alto's request for covering
fire comes over the radio and Astarte nods. "We hear you. Algernon, bring us
in closer."
"Closer, ma'am?!"
"Do I have a frog in my throat?"
"No, ma'am!" The helmsman engages the thrusters, bringing the One Fine
Day up parallel with the Macross Quarter. "Jenais, match the Quarter. Give 'em
all we got on the cannons!"
With another "roger," the Nazca's beam cannons fire off a focused shot
into the enemy fleet, aiming at Ghost and Galaxy alike.
KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro targets Mobile Weapons Team with 120cm High Energy Beam Cannon Focused Assault!
<Pose Tracker> Tabizan Tilgez has posed.
They're all working together, at least. Tabizan can be content with that.
Not just the ones she contacted, either. She watches Sagiri with some interest,
listening in unabashedly, and into the momentary silence after, Tabby speaks:
"I think I like her," with an air of thoughtfulness.
And now she's fighting herself, whether she wants to be or not - but
fortunately, she wants to be. Ghosts zip out and around her, lancing out with
energy cannons and penetrating beams. Tabizan moves to an almost dance-like
evasion pattern, one moment swooping with the Vargal's thrusters and the next
pirouetting away from being surrounded by the fast-moving Ghosts.
Tabizan is agile in space, but they're more so. She can take more G-forces than
most humans, but the Ghosts don't have any pilot at all, and can take turns
and acceleration that even she can't. She manages to avoid getting cornered
and surrounded, but the Vargal does not get away unscathed, having to
accelerate through the edge of one of the beams to avoid getting cored by
another.
She still finds time to respond to Grace, too-sweet: "At least I don't have to
try to put everyone in a network for approval. People think I'm hot *without*
being forced," because if Grace can be petty so can she. It's Tabizan's flaw;
she gets too into battle, and right now she's too into responding to Grace,
specifically...
She mimes blowing a kiss at the radio, not that Grace can see it (especially
given she's hung up) and not that it works with her helmet on anyway.
And then she's all business, because... "Reaction warheads!" she calls, to her
own impromptu network. "Break up, scatter! I'll cover you as best I can!" And
she does; Queadluun units are known for their missiles, and though she didn't
have the pack on when she encountered Flay before, this time she does.
A flurry of missiles launches up and out to the sides of the Queadluun, forming
a fan behind her before orienting forward. The second volley, Tabizan chases
in, slamming her accelerator so hard there's a dull ache in her chest from the
G-forces every time she breathes in.
The missiles detonate in a broad line, and then another a moment later slightly
further on, and then a *third* slightly past that, a wavefront-like blast line
of explosives that Tabizan uses to punch a hole - the Ghosts clearly can't
drive through explosions, at least not safely - and break ahead, so she can
then fire backwards and try to scatter them away from the Rose team, Flay,
Rin, and her drones.
KTS: Tabizan Tilgez has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Tabizan Tilgez targets Mobile Weapons Team with MCS1-17b Cloudburst!
<Pose Tracker> Leon Sakaki has posed.
Leon takes out one Ghost, but when one falls, two more take its place. Soon,
he's overwhelmed, the YF-30 being raked with fire.
"Damnit!" Leon groans, changing to Battroid mode to bring his shields to bear.
"Leon, you'd better not be damaging my fighter!" Aisha chastises.
"No, no, it's nothing! Just a scratch!"
"Hold fast, Siegfried 1!" Ozma radios, and Skull Squadron joins Leon's assault,
blasting away at Ghosts. At Alto's request for covering fire, Ozma grins.
"Skull 4, we've got your back! All units, TOTSUGEKI LOVE HEART!" Ozma roars.
"What? What's that?" Leon asks, confused.
"Just try and keep up, newbie." Michael tells him with a smirk, and with that,
the group break as one. Ozma and Leon charge in towards the Galaxy, dodging
past Ghosts and Vajra battleships as they unload. The missile pods on the
Chronos' container snap open one by one, and Leon unleashes a barrage against
the wave of Ghosts to cover Alto.
"Let's do this, Michael! MMJ!" Klan shouts, and Michael transforms to Battroid
and lands on a nearby asteroid, his rifle snapping open as he locks on.
Michael snipes enemies that get too close to Alto or the Quarter with his
rifle while Klan covers his back, forming a perfect radius of close-range and
long-range attacks.
"Simon, John, Peter. I release you from your yoke!" Luca's own Ghosts twitch
and buzz around his Messiah. "Show me the power that once terrorized Macross
City. Judas System, release!" The Ghosts eyes all glow as the full power of
their computerized brains is activated. Acting independently now, they shoot
off in different directions, weaving past Vajra ships and duking it out with
their counterparts with a frighteningly inhuman speed.
Their formation is beautiful. But is it enough?
KTS: Leon Sakaki targets Mobile Weapons Team with Micro-Missile Lockon Strike!
<Pose Tracker> Shinji Kaminaga has posed.
A few swift swats are not enough to destroy the Ghosts, as they adapt swiftly
to even the silver giant called Ultraman's rapid movements.
Ultraman is not the kind of empath who can detect others' thoughts - probably?
- nor the kind that can see things that occur beyond his sight - maybe?! - but
he may just be the kind that can hear your radio. Alto calls for supporting
fire. Ultraman does not speak; he never has. Even his movements have always
been eerily silent. Ultraman speaks by his words alone.
*
"I'm getting signal on the radioactivity counter," Asami mutters. "Are they
using reaction weapons? Don't envy being in that melee..."
"Indeed," Volfogg rumbles. "Shielding has grown quite effective in the last few
years, but even a close hit could be disastrous."
*
One of them slams directly into Ultraman, erasing him completely in a cloud of
star-white light. Far away, Asami stares, her heart sinking.
But soon, a gleam asserts itself through the fading light of reactive
destruction, a shell of pristine light holding back the destruction of man's
finest weapons.
*
Asami slumps back in her chair, hand going to her head. "Even after that...it's
like he's barely damaged. What even is that body of his...?"
*
Ultraman continues the drive forward, but with the purpose of distracting the
many Ghosts, and keeping the Battle Galaxy's attention away from the action
Ultraman detects in the Planck Brane, he draws back a hand behind his head -
and a buzzsaw of what appears to be soft-focus starlight blooms in his hand,
which he hurls downrange.
Then, when it is some distance away, it suddenly, silently, smoothly scatters
apart into thirty, spreading across the field to hunt down individual Ghosts
and firing points.
KTS: Shinji Kaminaga targets Mobile Weapons Team with Formation Ultra Slash! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage guard against Astarte Spalding-Monteiro's 120cm High Energy Beam Cannon Focused Assault!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage. KTS: Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Astarte Spalding-Monteiro's 120cm High Energy Beam Cannon Focused Assault, taking 4760 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.
What's worse than a Ghost?
An armada of Ghosts.
What's worse than an armada of Ghosts?
An armada of Ghosts outfitted with nukes.
Sagiri Sakurai never thought she'd ever have to face off against a single one,
much less that ludicrous Worst Case Scenario, but, well.
Here we are.
Rami and Amies, monitoring their respective sensor readouts on the Tyranado and
the Carriax, are the first ones to realize as the reinforcing Ghosts fire off
a new salvo of warheads. Amies' eyes widen behind the wide glint of her
glasses; Rami lets out an audible gasp.
<"Ma'am--">
<"--REACTION WEAPONS INBOUND! MA'AM, YOU HAVE TO MOVE--!">
Sagiri's reactions are reflexive. The natural talent she was inexplicably born
with, combined with years of tumultuous, harrowing experience on the field,
combine to make her -act- before she even -thinks-. No words are spared for
Grace or her taunts -- not now. Everything is pitted towards survival. The
Tyranado fires its bayonets as the Tyranado and the Carriax retreat and ascend
away from those roaring reaction missiles --
But it's just a split second too late.
Warhead after warhead detonates. Stars in miniature ripple outward across the
blank canvas of space, lighting up the nothing with a furious -something-
until the battlefield becomes a blooming field of fusion reactions.
The one nearest the Tyranado detonates--
<"SAKURAI! RAMI!!">
Hirosuke Amasaki's voice, pitched to rare heights as that often-pristine
veteran's calm shatters, is lost within the blinding fury as the Carriax
vacates the field and its crew are left to watch in dawning horror as the
Tyranado is engulfed. For the longest time, it seems like that is the end of
it. A precious handful of seconds stretch on for eternity as 'SIGNAL LOST'
scrolls across the monitor readouts for the Tyranado.
And then--
Within the blinding light of annihilation, there is a glimmer of blue-green
energies.
Data readouts return with shaky, fractious uncertainty.
And a second later--
<"... y'know"> *KSSSHHHH* <"what?">
A lance of green punctures through the fading broil of nuclear force.
<"I think I'll do JUST THAT, 'GRACE', YOU FU"> KKSSSSHHHHEEEEEEE
maybe it's for the best that static cuts out the long, LONG series of
descriptors Sagiri Sakurai delights Grace with.
It's not for delicate ears, judging by how Rami's expression transforms from
bewildered relief to gasping aghast.
<"M-m-m-ma'am--!">
<"But first--">
The Tyranado has seen better days. Armor plating has been shorn off; half its
face is missing; one leg has been reduced to a molten stump rapidly cooling in
the absolute vacuum that is space. But, somehow, -someway-, it survived -- and
it's -still- operational.
<"Meryl! Strikers!">
<"Wh-- how did -- y-yes, ma'am! Coming right up!!">
Hirosuke slumps back in the seat of the Carriax, visibly relieved as he hears
Rami's voice. Amies just lets out a breath she didn't know she had been
holding. And Meryl--
Meryl launches off something into the void. Something long, white and oblong,
like a great white egg, launching straight towards the disfigured Tyranado in
the distance.
<"-- but first, I need to make sure a boy gets to meet a girl, -without-
annoying stalkers like you getting in the way!">
The Tyranado catches that object, the weight of it enough to make the mobile
suit lurch forward as it grips on with both hands. The 'nose' of it cracks
open as the Tyranado swings it up -- revealing the barrel of a -massive-
cannon, crackling with energies.
<"Maybe what people 'get' isn't always what they 'deserve'! But that doesn't
mean they can't turn their fate around, as long as they reach for it -- as
long as someone's willing to take their hand instead of slapping it away! I
believe -- no, I KNOW, our Ms. Galactic Fairy is going to get what she
'deserves' in life! And so will Ranka, and Alto! And we're gonna be there,
pushing them along, every step of the way">
The Striker fires. And sensors distort in crackling static as the Quark Drive's
output is funneled into generating a massive, grinding sweep of blinding green
energy, traveling in a wide swath across any Ghosts unfortunate enough to get
in its way.
<"And I'm gonna enjoy seeing your pissy face when it happens in spite of all
your BULLSHIT, 'Grace'!">
<"That's right!!">
<"We're putting an end to your disgusting games today, Ms. O'Connor!">
<"Deplorable people like you have no right even associating with people as
wonderful as Ms. Nome and Ms. Lee.">
<"You heard 'em! So take your holier than thou attitude and shove it!">
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai targets Mobile Weapons Team with Mega Buster Striker - Wide Sweep!
<Pose Tracker> Rose Tritten has posed.
An electronic voice blares a rapid warning in Rose's ear. "FLASH. FLASH.
FLASH." The pink haired coordinator's genetically enhanced blood runs cold.
"NUKES!" Sushila screeches over the radio, as projected detonation sites
appeared on the ZAKU Warrior's 3D Map.
Like women possessed, the trio scramble out of projected killzones, and very,
very narrowly avoid being incinerated by the miniature suns. When the suns
fade, the paint on the ZAKU Warriors is long since scorched.
"Is everyone okay?!" Rose called out over the radio. Aspyn and Sushila
responded with crackling voices, as the spike in radiation dissipated. "Follow
me! We're gonna close in to try and stay inside their stand off bubble!"
The Trio of now blackened ZAKUs dance back and forth, dodging screaming Ghosts
and blasting away at them with beam axe, machine gun and cannon.
KTS: Rose Tritten targets Mobile Weapons Team with Formation Attack Pattern Epsilon!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage Intercept against Tabizan Tilgez's MCS1-17b Cloudburst!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage. KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Tabizan Tilgez's MCS1-17b Cloudburst, taking 3240 damage!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team engages guard against Leon Sakaki's Micro-Missile Lockon Strike!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage. KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team successfully guards Leon Sakaki's Micro-Missile Lockon Strike, taking 2580 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.
Rin watches as Rancor closes the distance, supporting him with the occasional
shot. She follows him, like a dog that's gone to fetch its quarry. Not a bad
analogy, even if Rancor answers one of the incoming beams by *ripping the
wing* off of a ghost with his forward penetration, snapping his 'neck'
forwards, and hurling it up to intercept.
Rancor has grown familiar with operations in space. It took him a while - and
he has limitations, being, ultimately, a scrapper - but he's gotten the hang
of it. The flickering electrons that whir through his logic blocks signal,
analyze, interpret, and send forwards. The little mother (which, to Rancor,
means something very different than it might to the Vajra) is well. They fight
to protect someone. Many someones.
Rancor feels good.
Rin, though she's feeling some degree of optimism, isn't exactly feeling good.
When the reflex suns begin to bloom, she lets out a hiss of breath. And to
her, the sense of loss from the Tyranado - and its two passengers - it is
drawn out longer. She looks downwards. For a couple of seconds, her brain
twiddles around rescue booster trajectories. It's anxiety. She doesn't have
much of a habit of praying.
But she inhales, finally, when the voice rings out. "Jeez," she groans. "Don't
DO that --" But she's not the only one wishing Sagiri and Rami well. And the
wishes don't stop there.
"Now," Rin continues. "Miss Grace. As you were saying--"
"Useless?" Rin says.
Her eyes widen. "USELESS??"
"This from the woman who's held back Ranka *AND* Sheryl?! This from someone
aiming to take over everyone's mind and put herself at the top beyond even a
queen or an empress!? You're saying our resistance is useless?!" Rin bares her
teeth. "I'll show you who's useless! You don't know a god damned thing about
what I can do!"
Perhaps she's talking herself up. She also tilts her head at a curious angle
and bites something taped to the inside of her normal suit, just to the side
of the water-pouch straw. It bursts; a cloying sweetness fills her mouth. Rin
suctions out what's left of it and gulps it down. It runs thickly down her
throat, like syrup.
Because... it is, essentially, syrup: starting from the foundation of a
'recuperation shot' which is definitely a hangover cure, with additional
synthesized-100%-pure glucose, a substantial fraction of the RDA of caffeine
compound, and a sprinkling of neurotransmitter precursors on the theory of
'this isn't banned, so it must be good, right?'
It's more prosaic than most combat drugs, really. But for Rin, the world gets
appreciably slower as the sugar rushes into her blood stream alongside the
stimulants. She exhales out. "Behold," Rin says, "the future of battle! SCORN!
PD!"
PD? That's not very cash money of a phrase! Except it stands for Point Defense,
AND it means that streaks of laser light paint down, stripes of thin blue
across the canvas of space. Each 469-nm (nice) wavelength emission aims
towards a mission or a target. The rain of guardianship after an initial
clearing ends up on the Tyranado's general area -- Scorn no doubt knows where
his bread is powered from.
"Yeah," Rin answers Rose, tight with the force of acceleration as she and
Rancor head for the Battle Galaxy. "Good plan. She's not gonna destroy herself
in her moment of triumph."
KTS: Rin Naujakaite targets Mobile Weapons Team with Scorn - The Pitiless Judgment of a Beam Emitter!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage evade against Shinji Kaminaga's Formation Ultra Slash!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage. KTS: Mobile Weapons Team moderately reacts to Shinji Kaminaga's Formation Ultra Slash, taking 3330 damage!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage guard against Sagiri Sakurai's Mega Buster Striker - Wide Sweep!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team poorly reacts to Sagiri Sakurai's Mega Buster Striker - Wide Sweep, taking 5400 damage!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team engages charge against Rose Tritten's Formation Attack Pattern Epsilon!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage. KTS: Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Rose Tritten's Formation Attack Pattern Epsilon, taking 2870 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.
The Strike E's railguns swivel back into place once their shots meet their
mark, and more, ripping through the two Ghosts. But that alone isn't enough,
as more and more Ghosts approach closer - with some carrying some very
distinctive weaponry. "Those are...!" She realizes, but Tabizan says it first.
And despite still not completely trusting her, when she says to scatter...
Flay knows it's in her best interest to listen. "I know!"
The IWSP's thrusters blaze, pushing it towards a path away from the reaction
missiles, but closer to the Battle Galaxy itself, the mobile suit being met by
a beam cannon from the ship itself. At this range, it's impossible to avoid,
and the converging beam slams through the Strike's combined shield, searing a
clean hole into it. Taking a deep breath, Flay scans the remaining Ghost
units... there's just so many. Are they really going to be able to make it
through this?
At the same time, Grace's hologram dares them to fight back to demonstrate how
useless it is. Maybe Grace can see it - the fear in the girl's eyes, despite
the strong front she's trying to put up. "What do you know?" She snaps back,
but not long after, Grace cuts off the transmission to get the last word.
That's fine - it's one less distraction to worry about.
As Tabizan fires off her storm of missiles, and Rancor flies in, Flay takes
several deep breaths, trying to get a lock on as many of the Ghosts as her
targeting computer can pick up, thanks to the cover fire. "Just... disappear!"
Without being able to achieve that perfect focus, she fires a scattered,
haphazard series of beam rifle shots... that are hopefully enough to break the
Ghost's formation along with everyone else's attacks.
KTS: Flay Allster targets Mobile Weapons Team with 57mm Enhanced High-Energy Beam Rifle Rapid-Fire Assault!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage guard against Rin Naujakaite's Scorn - The Pitiless Judgment of a Beam Emitter!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage. KTS: Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Rin Naujakaite's Scorn - The Pitiless Judgment of a Beam Emitter, taking 2800 damage!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage charge against Flay Allster's 57mm Enhanced High-Energy Beam Rifle Rapid-Fire Assault!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage. KTS: [Spirit Defense] Mobile Weapons Team's Heart of Fire activates, and his spirit endures.
KTS: Flay Allster enervates Mobile Weapons Team, reducing his Morale significantly.
KTS: Critical Hit! Mobile Weapons Team poorly reacts to Flay Allster's 57mm Enhanced High-Energy Beam Rifle Rapid-Fire Assault, taking 4914 damage!
KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Flay Allster's Fight Until You Die activates, causing Deject! KTS: Flay Allster bypasses Mobile Weapons Team, preventing him from Guarding the next attack!
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
"It's alright. It's alright now." Alto continues to hug Ranka for a
moment, until she mentions Sheryl. Alto knew something was wrong. Of course,
he's known for a while now. However, as Ranka says that she knows what to
do... Alto doesn't understand.
But she's asking him to fly. How can he refuse?
Alto nods, letting Ranka go and returning to his seat. The canopy
closes over the two of them again and Alto switches the Sentinel back into
fighter mode. He takes in a deep breath, before pushing the throttle forward
again.
The Sentinel's engines flare up and the craft pushes forward, diving
into another fold portal and reappearing back in space. Just in time to see
the mini-suns forming... Tch. He wants to make Grace pay... But right now
there are more important things. The Sentinel blasts off back in the direction
of the Battle Frontier.
One moment, Alto is pushing his craft hard to get back. The next he is
floating in space, the battle playing out around them. He's still learning
what the hell it was that he actually awakened within the Sentinel, and
himself, but this certainly feels similar. But this time he knows it's Ranka's
doing...
... And there in front of him, is Sheryl.
Ranka calls out to her out of concern, unwilling to part with her. Alto
feels the same, though to a degree he had accepted her fate... He's been
alongside her all along, with that feeling of being powerless...
... He's not sure how much of this he can take. But he needs to be
strong.
Is this it? Is this everything the Galactic Fairy has? The person who
has shaken the entire galaxy with her voice...
Just who are you?
Soon enough, the Sentinel makes it back to the Battle Frontier. The
valkyrie quickly slides into a hangar close to the stage where Sheryl has
collapsed.
A quick landing and a run through the corridors leads to Alto and Ranka
bursting onto the stage. Alto moves over to Sheryl's side and kneels beside
her, "Sheryl..." Looking at her in this state hurts...
He doesn't know what to do.
Alto looks at Ranka, eyes practically begging for her to have an answer.
-=-=-=-=-
With Ranka no longer singing for them, the coordinated strength of the
Vajra has been rapidly reduced. In fact, many of them seem to not be putting
their all into the fight with the Frontier Fleet. This has given the fleet a
chance to reform its lines and bring the battle closer to that of a stalemate.
As for the Battle Galaxy, whether it has noticed the disappearance of
its captive Queen or not is not clear from the outside. Nothing seems to
change much in response to the rescue.
No wait, that's not true. The giant robot is starting to raise its
right arm. Given the large gun in that hand, that is NOT a good sign! And
those aboard the Macross Quarter know that full well, Captain Wilder quickly
ordering, "Signal the fleet to scatter immediately!" The Quarter itself
quickly starts to veer off, other ships in the combined fleet doing the same.
Thankfully there's still time as the giant robot is not especially fast in its
movements.
The One Fine Day is amongst the last to unleash its barrage as the
fleet begins to break away in face of the looming threat. The beams smash
against the pinpoint barrier, the flaring energy seemingly dimmer in
appearance. They appear to be wearing the warship's defenses down! The beams
do pierce through to carve across part of the Battle Galaxy's surface.
The Ghosts target their beam machine guns on the missile barrage fired
by Tabizan's Queadluun. Some of the missiles detonate before they reach their
targets, others still make it, exploding in a wide swath across space. A
number of the Ghosts are caught up in it, while others move to skirt around
the edges to try and reposition and regain attack vectors.
The Valkyries and Queadluuns from SMS join together to blast their way
forward. Ozma and Leon's missiles explode amidst swarms of the drone fighters.
Michael's unerring shots slice through one Ghost after another without fail.
Klan provides cover fire with her laser pulse guns. While Luca's own Ghosts,
with greater combat data from their efforts in the Vajra war, prove to be able
to out maneuver their more advanced siblings, popping enemy Ghosts left and
right with their guns.
Ultraman survives through a direct hit from a reaction warhead--an
impressive feat!--and counters with a small fleet of his own in the form of
numerous buzzsaws that chase after the Ghosts. The agile little machines try
to zip around through space to try and avoid them but ultimately even their
maneuverability is no match for the Ultraman's weapons as the buzzsaws slice
through many of the Ghosts, cutting them in half before they explode.
Out of the fires of armageddon comes the Tyranado, its giant cannon
glowing ominously. The large beam blasts forward, rushing through the swarming
Ghosts and even going so far as to reach the Battle Galaxy itself. Quite a few
of the smaller machines are all but obliterated under the assaulting energy,
while the Galaxy suffers a large scar across its upper torso.
Despite being in their second grueling skirmish today, the Tritten team
continue to push through, demonstrating the power of friendship and ZAFT's
best as their weapons continue to thin the Ghosts numbers. It seems like
reinforcements from the Battle Galaxy has slowed as the number of hostile
signals is growing smaller.
And those numbers only decrease further as Rin and Rancor unleash a
devastating barrage of light in numerous directions, slicing through more
Ghosts as they are unable to react quickly enough, their processing
capabilities overwhelmed by the attack.
By the time Flay gets close enough to the Battle Galaxy to take a
serious hit and fire off beam rifle shots at the last of the launching Ghosts,
the Battle Galaxy's hangars seemed to have finally been emptied. No more
reinforcements are coming. And those that are still left are quickly being
mopped up by others.
Unfortunately, the Battle Galaxy's arm is now in position, the giant
cannon aimed and rapidly charging. The light inside the triple barreled gun is
rapidly building in intensity. Finally it fires, the massive beam rapidly
expanding as it streaks out across space. It quickly closes the distance
towards the attacking fleet. Some have already managed to move out of the path
of the weapon, but others are not quite so lucky as the destructive energy
quickly approaches.
Even those that have managed to evade still have to suffer under
assault from the large warship's remaining arsenal.
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Leon Sakaki with Macross Cannon (21) - Full Output!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Flay Allster with Macross Cannon (21) - Full Output!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Rin Naujakaite with Macross Cannon (21) - Full Output!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Tabizan Tilgez with Macross Cannon (21) - Full Output!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team has activated the Resupply Spirit Command. KTS: Mobile Weapons Team has activated the Resupply Spirit Command. KTS: Mobile Weapons Team has activated the Resupply Spirit Command. KTS: Mobile Weapons Team has activated the Resupply Spirit Command. KTS: Mobile Weapons Team has activated the Resupply Spirit Command. KTS: Mobile Weapons Team has activated the Resupply Spirit Command. KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Rose Tritten with Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Sagiri Sakurai with Shoulder Mantle Ionic Blaster!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Shinji Kaminaga with Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Astarte Spalding-Monteiro with OTEC Converging Energy Cannon!
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Rose Tritten has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Flay Allster has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Sagiri Sakurai engages evade against Mobile Weapons Team's Shoulder Mantle Ionic Blaster!
KTS: Best Defense! Sagiri Sakurai successfully reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Shoulder Mantle Ionic Blaster, taking 300 damage!
KTS: Tabizan Tilgez has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Tabizan Tilgez engages guard against Mobile Weapons Team's Macross Cannon (21) - Full Output!
KTS: Tabizan Tilgez successfully guards Mobile Weapons Team's Macross Cannon (21) - Full Output, taking 6295 damage!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team roots his unit, coming to a standstill and leaving him vulnerable.
KTS: Rose Tritten engages parry against Mobile Weapons Team's Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx!
KTS: Best Defense! Rose Tritten successfully reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx, taking 1620 damage! <Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Grace has indeed already hung up by the time Tabizan gets her own final
word in, but there's something satisfying in saying it anyway, isn't there?
Similarly, she's disconnected by the time Sagiri has made it out on the other
side of dodging actual reaction weaponry, missing both her long string of
staticked curses and her impassioned speech; likewise Rin's enraged reaction
to being called useless. Flay may be less satisfied in the middle of her
fear, but it amounts to the same. Grace has already turned her ears away.
But that was true from the start. She wasn't going to be moved by
anything any of them had to say. It is, nonetheless, worth saying. It's worth
putting that energy into the universe in a form others can hear. That's the
essence of song, isn't it? And this is their own form of song: these words of
defiance that weave in between their flight, their fight. Tabizan blows her
irreverent kiss; Flay snaps her retort; Rin snarls about showing off what she
can do; Sagiri and her loyal team swear they'll help this triangle reunite no
matter what Grace's monstrous ambitions. So that Sheryl, Alto, and Ranka can
all get what they truly deserve: each other.
Those feelings weave together with the fold waves that now entangle
around that triangle. It's what keeps that dark red of Sheryl's form from
bleeding any darker, if but for a moment. It's a crucial moment, one that
bolsters Alto and Ranka's messages in turn. That keep Sheryl on the brink,
rather than falling off it, for just long enough.
Sheryl-!
Around Sheryl's physical body, Elmo and the doctors rush to her side.
The noise they make has faded away, though. Sheryl's eyelashes have shut,
locked together by unshed tears.
Even so, she can still hear.
Don't go. Don't leave us! Don't leave... me.
Ranka... I can't... not anymore...
But despite what she says, Sheryl's long fingers twitch and curl, as if
to clasp around an outstretched hand.
Alto's less gentle about it--he's always had that infuriating way about
him. Is this everything the Galactic Fairy has?
Don't! You know I was never... meant to be more than a tool...
But there's a rush of striking heat there, however anguished, in her
mental voice.
The two of them in each other's arms--the vision of it pains her even
more than the microbes killing her do. The doctors are working on pulling her
up on a gurney as Elmo shouts desperate affirmations--
--but then Alto and Ranka race in. It's Elmo who shoos everyone away
enough to let Alto and Ranka get close to Sheryl's limp body. At this
proximity, she stirs again, but she doesn't speak to them with her lips.
Instead, the fold quartz in her earring glitters, its light dimming with each
little flash.
Alto... Ranka... Being with you two... was the happiest... I've ever
been...
Go on and, be happy without, me... all right...?
KTS: Rin Naujakaite has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Flay Allster has activated the Enable Spirit Command. KTS: Rin Naujakaite engages evade against Mobile Weapons Team's Macross Cannon (21) - Full Output!
KTS: Rin Naujakaite successfully reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Macross Cannon (21) - Full Output, taking 5960 damage!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team roots his unit, coming to a standstill and leaving him vulnerable.
KTS: Flay Allster engages evade against Mobile Weapons Team's Macross Cannon (21) - Full Output!
KTS: Flay Allster successfully reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Macross Cannon (21) - Full Output, taking 6630 damage!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team roots his unit, coming to a standstill and leaving him vulnerable.
KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro engages evade against Mobile Weapons Team's OTEC Converging Energy Cannon!
KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro successfully reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's OTEC Converging Energy Cannon, taking 3400 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
Alto tells her it's alright. And she would love to believe it's true. Getting
to see him again, she almost can. But it's not for Sheryl... and if it's not
for Sheryl...
... then she's not all right.
Alto reaches out to Sheryl, one corner of this triangle of feelings she's drawn
into this space. He looks to her, for the answer. Ranka has one... for how
to save Sheryl. She doesn't know how she knows. She just knows.
She can feel what's killing her, she can feel why they're killing her. She
knows how to tell them to stop. It's all about communication, empathy. She
knows how, now. Grace may have hurt her, hurt so many others, but
inadvertently she ripped away the veil that kept her from knowing the truth...
... and behind it was all she needed to know.
Alto looks to her for answers, but as Sheryl's feelings come across. Ranka's
hand moves back slightly, stunned, looking like she's in disbelief. And then
briefly, her expression grows frustrated, and her hand reels back as if she's
decided to be less gentle too.
STUPID!
Everyone across the battlefield feels it, the slap of contact, because it's
not physical. It's emotional. It's like a discordant thread of song that
shimmers across As Ranka Lee's effigy outright slaps Sheryl's spirit across
the cheek. It's perhaps shocking in the sense of her doing that to someone
who is only hanging on by a thread. And they can feel the words that follow,
with all of their soft but desperate urgency.
Idiot.
It echoes, quieter, as Ranka embraces her, drawing her into a hug, her hand-
discolored briefly, like the red of Sheryl's aura bled into it.
You promised me. You promised me we'd stand on the same stage one day.
It's a mirror of that moment at the concert, when Sheryl slapped her. And from
the three, triangles of pink and blue and green conjoin, forming windows, into
memories as sound. Sheryl and Ranka eating crepes, Ranka confessing what she
is to Sheryl. Alto and Sheyl and her together at her birthday. Sheryl and
Ranka singing together back on Frontier Colony, as she showed who she is the
first time.
But there's also Ranka seeing Sheryl and Alto kissing on the set of Bird Human.
Ranka seeing Sheryl on the mountainside, tracing her ancestors. The three of
them together... sometimes it's only two, but even in those moments, it's
like the three of them remain conjoined.
We didn't ask for you to come into our lives, but you did. You did! Alto and
me... we were only able to fly, because you gave us strength. Because you
were with us. Do you think we'd ever be happy if you left us?
She understands her own hypocrisy, as she left Sheryl with Alto, but it was a
lesson she learned, a lesson she'll atone for later. She can admit her own
faults, her own foolishness, but right now - she needs Sheryl, and she needs
her to know she's not going to die.
Ranka slowly loosens the hug, lowering her arm on one side as she looks Sheryl
in the eyes, tears visible in that moment.
Idiot... no, I'm the biggest idiot here, for taking so long to say it.
And these feelings, everyone does hear- or rather feels now, loud and clear.
I love you. I love you both. I don't want to leave either of you... ever
again. I won't ever sing again, unless I know that maybe tomorrow, I can
stand on that stage with you.
And as she loosens that hug more, she gives Alto a place to come in, to join
them.
And to know that I can watch Alto fly higher than ever... so don't give up.
Please.
And despite it all, she smiles against the tears.
We're this close to our happy ending.
KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro has activated the Rouse Spirit Command. KTS: Leon Sakaki has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Leon Sakaki engages evade against Mobile Weapons Team's Macross Cannon (21) - Full Output!
KTS: Leon Sakaki moderately reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Macross Cannon (21) - Full Output, taking 300 damage!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team roots his unit, coming to a standstill and leaving him vulnerable.
KTS: Shinji Kaminaga engages charge against Mobile Weapons Team's Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx!
KTS: Shinji Kaminaga's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage. KTS: Shinji Kaminaga successfully reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx, taking 1140 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Astarte Spalding-Monteiro has posed.
"To the side!"
The ship veers away from the beam heading towards it, nearly causing
the bridge crew to fall out of their seats as the hull catches a glancing
blow. "Shields at 24%! We can't take much more!" Astarte sucks a breath in
through her teeth with a hiss. The Vajra were one thing, but this was an
entire Macross... Steepling her fingers, she weighs the options. There was
backup enough for a strategic falling back, but...
"No, we're close. I can feel it."
First Officer Xiao turns to the captain. "Captain?"
"We haven't come this far just to fall over at the finish line! We've
got one more good go left in us! It's lost its little friends, so all we have
to do is focus everything on the Galaxy! Fire the cannons one more time!"
The One Fine Day points itself back towards the Galaxy, letting off another
full powered beam cannon shot.
KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro targets Mobile Weapons Team with 120cm High Energy Beam Cannon Focused Assault!
<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.
The barrel of the Mega Buster Striker closes with a crackling hiss. In the
intervening silence, and the wake of the destruction the Striker has wrought,
Sagiri Sakurai has the briefest moment to let her rational brain catch up to
her adrenaline-infused forward momentum now that she lacks an active nemesis
to verbally spar with.
<"Jesus,"> Sagiri exclaims, wide-eyed and flummoxed, <"Did we just survive a
nuke?! Ha ha ha I thought we were dead for sure!">
Rami just -- stares at Sagiri, for the longest time. Her mouth opens. Closes.
Opens. And, unable to decide whether her amazement or her horror is winning
out, she just does the normal thing and--
<"Th-th-th-that is -not something you say in front of your CO-PILOT, ma'am-!!">
-- takes a two-handed grasp of the back of Sagiri's seat and just shakes.
PLAINTIVELY.
<"I-i-i-it's f-f-f-fine Ram-am-am-i there w-w-w-was no-o-o-o way I-i-i-i-i
was-as-as gonna l-l-let anyth-thing ha-ha-happen to-- ah crap, evasive
maneuvers!">
<"WAGH?!">
Now, it's the Galaxy's turn to level its wrath -directly- upon the Tyranado and
the others sortied. Rather than trying to -retreat- from it though, Sagiri
punches the accelerator, sending the Tyranado -jetting- forward towards the
advancing Macross like the world's most hilariously lopsided game of chicken.
<"Meryl! Give me the old one-two special!">
<"Understood, ma'am!">
An ionic blast pulses from the shoulder-mounted weapons of the Macross. Part
one of the Carriax and Tyranado's assault comes -now-, as the Carriax fires
off a volley of chafe missiles at the blast. The ionic discharge ruptures
them, exploding in a ripple of obfuscating material; the chafe helps the
Tyranado outpace the remains of the assault - save for a remnant fringe of
ionic charge that ripples through its right shoulder -- and allows it to keep
-punching- forward.
<"I'm coming for you, Grace--!">
The second part --
-- that comes in the form of a long-barreled launcher-rifle launched from the
depths of the Carriax, caught in the Tyranado's left hand the second it is
close enough. It swings the gun forward.
And then just squeezes the trigger over and over, unloading pinpoint shots on
the weapons arrays of the Galaxy, everywhere it can find them -- trying to do
its best to defang the absolutely -titanic- machine before even -thinking- of
going on a direct offensive. The power output isn't nearly as great as the
Striker, but, it'll get the job done.
It's a continuous onslaught -- but one that pauses as the Macross Cannon fires
its blinding blast, TEARING through space with incomprehensible firepower.
Sagiri and Rami's gazes swing back simultaneously; they don't even have to
pause to know who is in that trajectory.
<"RIN!">
<"Rin!! Are you okay?!">
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai targets Mobile Weapons Team with Magna Beam Launcher - Focus Shot!
<Pose Tracker> Shinji Kaminaga has posed.
The vibrant red of Ultraman's body markings bleed to a faint turquoise, between
the massive expenditure of the formation attack and the drain of the reaction
weapon assault. But it doesn't seem to slow him down any. With the skies
cleared some from the Ghosts, Ultraman is now able to charge fearlessly into
the fray. The Battle Galaxy's arm gets into position, blasting away with
weapons systems strike his silver hide; even despite explosions, he endures
and carries on. He shifts his arms into a X-shape formation in front of him, a
sheen of light enveloping him and repelling much of the fire as Ultraman
careens toward the Battle Galaxy and finally gets close enough to act.
*
Asami crosses her arms and puts her fist to her space helmet as if she'd be
chewing on her knuckle if she safely could. "Whatever Saotome's doing, it's
put a real bee in the Galaxy's bonnet," she mutters.
"I imagine the bee is himself," Volfogg muses. "I detected a short-range Fold
transfer."
She huffs. "They seem to be out of Ghosts ready-to-go at least," Asami
confirms. "They've got the main weapon in firing position, but not even a
fleet flagship should be able to fire twice in rapid succession. They're open
now."
"And so we must count on the front lines to ensure the Galaxy is unable to
employ its full strength in any one direction. With the Vajra dazed by all
this..."
Asami's eyes set on the distant homeworld. "...it's our responsibility to
protect them, too?" she contemplates, Ultraman driving directly into the
Battle Galaxy's grasp as she says it.
*
Ultraman is on the larger end of the fighting giants of Earth's experience -
something like 60 meters. But a fleet flagship like the Battle Galaxy is even
more colossal, like trying to make battle against an entire standing city.
Ultraman does not fear this task, though, and streaks toward the gunnery arm
of the Battle Galaxy. It comes down hard on a turret, aiming to kick entirely
through it, before a blazing light ignites on his hand and he drives sweeps a
knife-hand gliding across the length he can reach to disable entire swaths of
power lines.
KTS: Shinji Kaminaga's No Timer. activates! KTS: Shinji Kaminaga has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Shinji Kaminaga has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Shinji Kaminaga targets Mobile Weapons Team with Ultra Knife Hand!
<Pose Tracker> Leon Sakaki has posed.
"Good work, Alto! Bring her home!" Ozma calls to his subordinate as he flies
past. He whistles when Alto teleports. "That's a fancy trick!"
"Uh, Captain?" Leon pokes Ozma over the comms. "I think we've got bigger
problems" In front of them, the Galaxy is bringing its cannon to bear, glowing
with a very dangerous light. The two Valkyries stare it down for a second
before Wilder's order comes over the radio.
"Siegfried 1, MOVE!" Ozma shouts.
"Uh, shit- Right!" The two Valkyries transform to Fighter mode quickly and
break off in different directions. Leon pushes his thrusters to maximum, but
he's still not fully clear.
"Come on, come on-" The Macross Cannon fires, and Leon escapes the radius
just as the beam goes screaming by, obliterating everything in its path. All
the paint on his tails is seared off by the heat of the beam, but otherwise,
he escapes unharmed.
"Whew! Holy- Holy cow," Leon breathes a sigh of relief as sweat drips from his
brow, but he's got no time to rest, as more Ghosts swarm him.
"Give me a break!" The Container Weapon pod pops out of the fighter as Leon
unleashes another swarm of missiles.
Leon Sakaki transforms to YF-30 Chronos <Fighter>
KTS: Leon Sakaki targets Mobile Weapons Team with Micro-Missile Lockon Strike! KTS: Rose Tritten has activated the Trick Spirit Command. <Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.
From Rin's perspective, this is going better than it has any right to, and she
is feeling, against all odds, rather optimistic that they're going to be able
to come out on top.
But how do they win, exactly? Destroying the Battle Galaxy? Probably doable...
if they have enough people... and weapons... and it hasn't somehow been
modified to have something else...
Then there is a brief glow from the front of the Macross Cannons. A vector
swoops up warningly and Rin banks hard to get out of it, grinding her teeth on
the spent wakeup-juice packet as the Gespenst's systems kick in -- a second or
two (from her perspective) too late, she realizes she's not going to make it
out of there in the same way.
But that does give her the chance to try and throw the AMBAC into a wild spin
to try and rotate most of the Gespenst out of the center of the incoming beam.
She's in the torso. In a Normal Suit. If it hits -
There is a great flash. The tumbling Gespenst's right arm up to the shoulder
vaporizes into a metallic mist that slaps into the Gespenst, all of that
happening in the fractional milliseconds of its discharge. It slaps into the
Gespenst even as there is a sudden crash of every computer system, external
sensors crackling and melting from radiant energy transfer--
It is so hot in here now, thinks Rin.
She realizes what that might mean.
Two heartbeats later - she thinks it won't, because if it was going to she
would have died already, and the enormity of that slides into a happy place
where it can rest and ferment while she tries to get through the rest of the
battle. She goes through the reboot process --
(Out in the void, Scorn swoops towards her. He has a programmed routine.)
And as the comm system comes back up -- '-n!! are you okay!?'
Staticky but coherent, Rin replies. "Think I lost the arm. I had the Beam
Launcher in it, so... that's cuttin down my options, hey chat though do you
know where they have like control or access stuff? Because I'm guessing if
she's Miss Fold Crystals she might be controlling things with a network signal
there but if there's some sorta key nexus we can hit -- RANCOR! Break that
gun!"
Rancor engages the second of four solid boosters and orients towards the Battle
Galaxy. He was well out of the firing arc... he is, after all, the subsidiary
unit. Right?
No. Rancor is a missile... he burns through the cosmic ashes, veering slightly
to avoid imminent impacts but almost entirely in a straight-line vector to
strike against the underside of one of the barrels of that great and terrible
gun and to reorient himself, striking and ripping at everything
exterior-facing he can.
Mere scratches.
But sometimes a scratch in the right place can make the difference.
<Pose Tracker> Rose Tritten has posed.
A scythe of beam CIWS rips across Rose's ZAKU shield, gouging it and shattering
it further than it already had suffered. Then...the slap. Rose feels her brain
tickle, and it's a weird feeling.
"Woah...what was that?" Sushila asked, her ZAKU Gunner's monoeye looked
around.
"Did it sound like Ranka Lee was in your head too?" Aspyn asked.
"We can figure that out later!" Rose replied. "Right now we gotta try and
disable that cannon!"
The trio of ZAKUs scream in close to the hull of the Galaxy, looking for any
weak points on the arm cannon. Spotting a tear in the armour, the trio close
in. Aspyn and Rose's ZAKU's wrench at the tear, each tossing in a few ZAKU
sized hand grenades. The blasts wrench it open even further, and Sushila stabs
the muzzle of her beam cannon in to the Galaxy's inner workings, unleashing a
full blast barrage!
KTS: Rose Tritten targets Mobile Weapons Team with Anti-Ship Formation Alpha! KTS: Rin Naujakaite targets Mobile Weapons Team with Rancor - Fight With Claw And Nail!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage guard against Astarte Spalding-Monteiro's 120cm High Energy Beam Cannon Focused Assault!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage. KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Astarte Spalding-Monteiro's 120cm High Energy Beam Cannon Focused Assault, taking 4500 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.
As Flay wipes out the remaining wave of Ghosts in front of her, she braces
herself for the next wave... only for it to never come. That must be good, it
must mean they're winning, right? Soon after, though, a feeling of dread sinks
in as the sensors focus in on the light of the fully charged Macross Cannon,
powerful enough to smash through Phase Shift Armour and leave nothing left.
The Strike E makes a sharp, cockpit-shaking turn... and only a moment after,
the screen fills with nothing but light. Rather than forcing her eyes shut,
Flay stares directly at the screen, thinking of Kira, her friends - an
immeasurable, unquantifiable distance away. All she knows is that she needs to
see them again, no matter what. And within that light, it finally happens -
that focus gathering into a seed that explodes into more light.
The light fades once the entire left arm of the Strike melts away along with
its shield, the rest of the machine evading just soon enough to escape being
obliterated by the Macross Cannon. For Flay, everything on the battlefield
seems to converge together... each explosion, each missile, and each beam, and
it all lands upon the Battle Galaxy, now left vulnerable after firing its
cannon. Unsheathing one of its Anti-Ship Swords with its remaining arm, the
Strike E charges for the Macross-class, aiming to tear through wherever the
sword can reach.
At the same time, far away from the lights of the battle, Sheryl's life begins
to fade away, with Ranka and Alto by her side. The psychic resonance of
Ranka's slap that travels across the battlefield like an earthquake is enough
to break Flay's focus for even just a moment, the Strike E briefly slowing.
"Eh? What was that...?" She whispers, as if she can piece together the vague
feelings and emotions, and yet, none of its full context.
KTS: Flay Allster targets Mobile Weapons Team with 9.1m Anti-Ship Sword Cleave! KTS: Rin Naujakaite has activated the Rouse Spirit Command. KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage guard against Sagiri Sakurai's Magna Beam Launcher - Focus Shot!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Sagiri Sakurai's Magna Beam Launcher - Focus Shot, taking 4410 damage!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage guard against Shinji Kaminaga's Ultra Knife Hand!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team poorly reacts to Shinji Kaminaga's Ultra Knife Hand, taking 3800 damage! <Pose Tracker> Tabizan Tilgez has posed.
It felt good to get it out even if Grace will never see it. Sometimes you just
need to follow your heart, and that's just what Tabizan did.
Tabizan has not been watching the giant holographs very much - or, rather, not
focusing on them - because they aren't what's trying to kill her; they're the
background, the stage setting. So when one of them reaches out, and Ranka
slaps Sheryl - well, the giant image of Ranka slaps the giant image of Sheryl,
to startle and not to harm - it suddenly draws her attention, the emotional
surge a stutter in her focus.
She grins, suddenly, and she doesn't know why. Some kind of connection...
On the battlefield, Tabizan pulls up from her wave of missiles, reorienting
herself. She's gotten a bit away from her crew - or who is temporarily her
crew anyway - and she has to figure out where to go from here. Speed is her
best advantage - and grace, no capital - but the Ghosts have her outmatched.
Fortunately, it's running out of Ghosts.
Unfortunately, it has a really, really big gun.
The cannon fires. Tabizan is on the edge of it, and though she flares her Phase
Shift Armour there's really no point against a beam like that; it handles
physical impact, so surely it has no purpose here. At the last moment she's
visible, her extensional arrestors snap out, reaching for *something* in the
void of space.
The beam fades.
Tabizan is still there. Her extensors have about half of a Ghost, shot down by
someone - she doesn't care who, and it doesn't matter anyway. What matters is
that she has five limbs - two hands, two arrestors, and one of her legs
bracing - holding up a Ghost in front of her. The broad way, using its wings
like a shield across her upper body, pointing 'down' to cover the rest of the
torso.
She's lost about half of one of the legs (the one that wasn't bracing the
Ghost) and the whole Ghost is glowing red-hot. Tabizan actually can't drop it
because one of the wings is spot-welded to the Vargal's hand. In the cockpit,
she's sweltering and desperate for some water.
But she's still up.
Tabizan uses the stuck hand to swing up, holding the Ghost overhead as if it
was going to fly toward the Macross. And then she fires something into the
engine - and she *does*, the still-sort-of-functioning remains of its
thrusters all firing at once, accelerating her faster and faster toward the
ship-robot itself.
With her other hand, she draws a short blade, then snaps it out to its full
length, beams flickering into existance along its side like a smaller version
of Flay's. But hers isn't as big, and can't cut as much.
What it can do is, with the full momentum of the misfiring Ghost and Tabizan's
own thrusters, slam hilt-deep into any port on the Macross and then discharge
its electrical discharge system, like the world's most upscaled taser, while
Tabizan desperately tries to kick off and reorient herself.
"Fancy seeing you here," she gets out, toward Flay, as she passes. (Three
quarters of the Ghost is still stuck to the Vargal's hand. At least its
thrusters aren't firing anymore - Tabizan has used up what's left, she's
moving under her own power now.) She sounds a little tight because she's
busily trying to feel slightly less crushed from that suicidal dive.
KTS: Tabizan Tilgez's Strut Your Stuff activates! KTS: Tabizan Tilgez targets Mobile Weapons Team with MMI-558J Composite Sword Heartbreaker!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage guard against Flay Allster's 9.1m Anti-Ship Sword Cleave!
KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Flay Allster's 9.1m Anti-Ship Sword Cleave, taking 5150 damage!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team engages evade against Rose Tritten's Anti-Ship Formation Alpha!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Rose Tritten's Anti-Ship Formation Alpha, taking 6740 damage!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team engages evade against Rin Naujakaite's Rancor - Fight With Claw And Nail!
KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Rin Naujakaite's Rancor - Fight With Claw And Nail, taking 0 damage!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to engage react against Tabizan Tilgez's MMI-558J Composite Sword Heartbreaker!
KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Tabizan Tilgez's MMI-558J Composite Sword Heartbreaker, taking 0 damage!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team engages intercept against Leon Sakaki's Micro-Missile Lockon Strike!
KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Leon Sakaki's Micro-Missile Lockon Strike, taking 0 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Don't! You know I was never... meant to be more than a tool...
Alto clenches his jaw at the reminder of what Grace had done to Sheryl.
He knows how much Sheryl had loved Grace, right up until her betrayal. But no,
this is not the time to be thinking of Grace...
Whatever her intentions, you were far more than a tool. A simple tool
could not have done what you did. Your song has reached across the galaxy and
touched the hearts of billions. YOU did that, not Grace.
It's not enough though... Alto can feel Sheryl slipping away.
Go on and, be happy without, me... all right...?
Alto squeezes his eyes shut, fists clenched. How? How could he possibly
be happy after this?
And then it happens. Alto opens his eyes wide in surprise as Ranka
spirit-slaps Sheryl. It's a surprising turn of events... But in a sense, he
can understand why she did it.
Alto moves forward just a little, hand reaching out towards the two as
Ranka hugs Sheryl. His blue rises around him, joining in to form his own
memories. Of the times he taught Sheryl how to fly. Taking Ranka up into the
blue of Earth's skies for her birthday. The three of them at dinner in Macross
City. Alto working as bodyguard for each of them in turn, happy to be standing
by their side.
Even as Ranka is talking to Sheryl, trying to keep her from giving up,
Alto himself is also taking in her words as he watches the two of them. He'd
always been afraid... Afraid of his feelings for both of them. He couldn't
choose, so he said nothing... Even when each of their feelings for him became
obvious. Even when they all but outright told him how they felt, he still
couldn't respond.
He indeed was a coward. Running away from what was important.
Alto finally moves forward, wrapping his arms around both of them.
Ranka's right. I could never fly again, if I wasn't able to fly with
your song guiding me on. It's only because of you--both of you--that I'm even
still alive. You gave me the opportunity to spread my wings. You gave me
something to keep fighting for. Sheryl, Ranka, I...
He won't run away anymore.
I love you. Both of you. We're going to reach that ending and many more
after it. This is not our final story, not by a long shot!
-=-=-=-=-
Even as the scene between Alto, Ranka and Sheryl plays out in a world
of emotion, the battle continues to rage in the real world.
Captain Astarte steels her resolve to bring this battle to an end,
directing the One Fine Day to continue the attack. The warship fires its beam
cannons, which streak out to splash against the Battle Galaxy's pinpoint
barrier. And in a surprising turn of events, said barrier proceeds to flash
out of existence! They've finally broken through!
With the way now clear, Sagiri begins firing repeated blasts towards
the Battle Galaxy's weapons. The large warship has quite a few turrets of
varying sizes, but they start to explode under the Tyranado's shots.
Ultraman and Flay quickly join in on the effort, getting in close to
the Battle Galaxy and unleashing their attacks against its turrets. They try
to turn and track them, though only the smallest amongst them are successful.
These warships rely far too much on deploying their own units to counter close
up attackers and what remains of the Battle Galaxy's units are being cleaned
up.
The Tritten team, as well as Rin, turn their attention to that large
cannon. One COULD assume that it won't fire in quick succession. But that's a
dangerous assumption. Taking it out probably would be wise. The three ZAKUs
seem to be making progress, cleaving through important looking power relays.
Rancor is having more trouble though, as close-in fire from the warship's
turrets are making it hard to find the right points to strike.
Thanks to additional efforts of those before her, Tabizan is able to
close in, driving her blade into a section of the Macross near its head.
Electricity crackles through the warship's structure. It doesn't inflict any
actual damage, but it does disrupt several systems along the way including
targeting systems. Easing up the weapons fire from the warship.
Leon and Ozma work in unison to unleash their swarms of micro-missiles
towards the Battle Galaxy. The warship's turrets turn to track them, a barrage
of bullets filling the space in front of them as they close. Many of the
missiles explode before reaching their target and while some do make it
through the counter barrage to blow chunks out of the Battle Galaxy's armor,
they unfortunately fail to strike any key components.
And it seems that the Battle Galaxy is not choosing to back down, as it
once against starts to charge the large cannon in its hand. Though this time
its aimed towards the Frontier Fleet and the colony ship behind it.
<"We won't let you do that."> Captain Wilder's voice echoes over the
radios as the Macross Quarter final comes flying in.
At the helm, Bobby grits his teeth under the strain of flying the ship
in towards the Battle Galaxy, triggering its transformation as he does so.
The Macross Quarter starts to shift, its engines folding downwards to
form legs even as the two ships mounted to it extend outwards as its arms
appear. Beam fire rakes out from the Battle Galaxy towards the Quarter,
zipping around it as Bobby guides the smaller ship in towards the large one.
As he brings the Quarter in close to the large gun of the Battle
Galaxy, Bobby brings the warship's left arm back, its pinpoint barrier
focusing on the tip of the light carrier attached there. The Quarter ducks
beneath the cannon, pushing its arm forwards and driving that glowing tip into
the hole opened by Rin and Rancor.
The light carrier is driven far into the structure of the cannon before
it reaches as far as it can and stops. The damage looks significant, but not
total yet.
But it's not over, as hatches in the light carrier open to reveal the
collection of Destroids waiting within the ship's internal hangar. The
Destroids unleash their arsenal of missiles out of those hatches, the
ordinance rushing out into the cannon's interior, flying down its whole length
as they collide and detonate.
Even as the Macross Quarter is pulling its arm back out of the cannon
again, the weapon's surface is bulging with the numerous small explosions
within until finally the entire thing explodes, taking one of the Battle
Galaxy's arms with it.
Over the radio, Captain Wilder says once more, <"This is it everyone!
Finish it!">
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Leon Sakaki with OTEC Converging Energy Cannon! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Flay Allster with Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Rin Naujakaite with Beam Array Full Complement! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Tabizan Tilgez with Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Rose Tritten with Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Sagiri Sakurai with Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Shinji Kaminaga with OTEC Converging Energy Cannon!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team targets Astarte Spalding-Monteiro with Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx!
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
SMACK. Ranka's palm impacts Sheryl's cheek, and her face turns, eyes
wide with shock. It's not physically, of course. But that doesn't matter,
because in this colored space, feelings mean so much more. She clutches her
cheek and stares at Ranka, only for Ranka to draw her into an embrace--and not
only invoke the promise they made each other so long ago, but tell her the
words that she's been holding back for so long.
She sucks in a little breath, color rising in her cheeks. It takes a
lot to fluster the Sheryl Nome into silence, but Ranka Lee has managed it.
Then Alto joins in, not just with the hug, but to reject the poison that Grace
had left in her even now. Sheryl tears up to hear him say it. She'd admired
him as a master of the stage for so long, she can't begin to express how much
his words mean to her.
Both of their memories--no, all three of their memories--are like a
river, reflecting all the times they've shared together. All of them are so
precious to Sheryl. That's right; Alto taught her to fly, too. That's right;
Ranka shared her most precious secrets with her. That's right... She's not
alone.
When Ranka looks into her eyes, she looks back, blue on copper,
reflecting each other's image. When Alto finally puts words to his feelings
for her, for them both, Sheryl takes in his image with her whole heart. To
watch Alto fly higher... to sing together with Ranka...
To have their happy ending, all three of them...
To hear Ranka and Alto both return the feelings she's held so dearly
for so long...
In the real world, Sheryl's lashes flutter open, and she pushes herself
up to her knees to gaze at Ranka and Alto. Her color is pale, but she already
wiped the blood away from before. For now, she reaches out and takes both
their hands in each of hers, clutching them tight as she leans in close,
unable to help a tender smile.
"Honestly... You both have a lot of nerve to make me wait this long to
hear that! ...Obviously, I love you both too. I want to keep writing the story
of my life with both of you!" Her eyelashes droop. "It's just..."
Some things happen whether you want them to or not. Right?
...She doesn't yet know about Ranka's miracle. She needs to show her,
still.
KTS: Rin Naujakaite has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Rose Tritten engages guard against Mobile Weapons Team's Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx!
KTS: Rose Tritten successfully guards Mobile Weapons Team's Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx, taking 2268 damage!
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai engages evade against Mobile Weapons Team's Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx!
KTS: Best Defense! Sagiri Sakurai moderately reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx, taking 0 damage!
KTS: Tabizan Tilgez engages parry against Mobile Weapons Team's Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx!
KTS: Tabizan Tilgez successfully reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx, taking 1458 damage!
KTS: Flay Allster has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Flay Allster engages guard against Mobile Weapons Team's Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx!
KTS: Best Defense! Flay Allster successfully guards Mobile Weapons Team's Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx, taking 2403 damage!
KTS: Rin Naujakaite engages evade against Mobile Weapons Team's Beam Array Full Complement!
KTS: Best Defense! Rin Naujakaite successfully reacts to Mobile Weapons Team's Beam Array Full Complement, taking 300 damage!
KTS: Shinji Kaminaga engages block against Mobile Weapons Team's OTEC Converging Energy Cannon!
KTS: Shinji Kaminaga's EN Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage. KTS: Best Defense! Shinji Kaminaga successfully blocks Mobile Weapons Team's OTEC Converging Energy Cannon, taking 1600 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
Ordinarily part of her would be shocked at herself for what she did, but
perhaps a little secretly delighted at flustering Sheryl Nome. And seeing her
tear up...
Maybe Ranka shouldn't be surprised, when Alto not only joins them, when he
embraces them together, but when he starts speaking his words of love, and she
gets the first sensation of how he feels, she looks at him out of the corner
of her eyes, then more, in disbelief, as a hand moves of her mouth.
Alto...
Like she's just overwhelmed, for a heartbeat, or two, before she smiles real
big, because she sees it now. Not just his love, nor her own...
'Honestly... You both have a lot of nerve making me wait this long to hear
that... Obviously, I love you both too.'
Well. Where do you think I learned how if not from the two of you.
How what? Well, to have a lot of Nerve, as Sheryl accuses them. There's a
laugh in that moment, a happy one.
...Then let's keep writing it. Let's get our happiness together...
It takes real contact. A moment of it, and while her other self was touching
Sheryl. She can feel the twin sensations, of the warmth on her skin, as Ranka
takes her hand, and holds it to her cheek.
"Sing with me."
Sing with me.
"We have to show them the proper place to go."
We have to show them the proper place to go.
"How you can live in harmony together."
How you can live in harmony together.
Sheryl knows what song Ranka wants to sing, as that hand she's holding over
Sheryl's cheek, she slowly traces it down.
"Aimo aimo
"Nedel lushe
"Noina miria
"Endel prodea
"Photomi"
It's an odd sensation, a rush of blood that makes Sheryl feel vaguely
light-headed, a warmth that travels throughout. As Ranka brings Sheryl's hand
down over her chest, and she feels herself able to breathe more easily again,
like something is leaving them. And because she can breathe more easily, she
can do as Ranka requested.
"Here we are in a warm sea: look up and breathe..."
She can sing with her.
Slowly, gradually, she brings it down to her belly, and holds it there. As if
the music were guiding them.
"Slumbering in the depths of my heart, as vast and brilliant as the stars, my
affection for you..."
"With the heat of your hand held in mine, when your quiet lips frame a rhyme,
will awaken in tune..."
And as she does so, the aura around Sheryl seems to instantly, miraculously
sparkle, as if her life-force were reigniting, as if the two had somehow done
what should be impossible, shown beings with no mind to think, some of the
simplest organisms in existence how to live with her without harming her.
Giving the body a chance to begin healing itself.
And in that moment, she remembers herself as a child, laying her head upon her
mother's lap, and she remembers her words, to tell Sheryl and Alto softly, a
little bashfully, despite that moment of great courage before.
"Aimo...is a love song..."
She smiles as her other hand cards through one puppy dog like ear of hair.
"...I remember that now."
Aimo, a love song... Somewhere out there in space, Brera sits in the cockpit of
the Lucifer, eyes shut as he listens to his sister and his friend join their
lips in the song that connected all of them in their expedition to the Global.
It joins Sheryl's heart with Ranka's now. Her body feels so light and fresh,
and she can't help but light up with a smile as the pain, the sickness, the
agony of her V-type infection all but melts away. It's not an infection
anymore. It's a symbiote, just as it is for her. Sheryl looks from her to
Alto, and what escapes her throat now isn't a wracking cough, but light,
bubbly laughter. She pulls them both closer, close enough to wrap in each of
her arms.
She grasps Ranka's chin, tilts it up... and leans in to join their lips, not in
song, but in a kiss.
Once she's lingered more than long enough to convey her answer, she draws back
with a warm smile... then turns to Alto to pull him in for a kiss too.
This has been far too long coming for all of them!
KTS: Leon Sakaki engages guard against Mobile Weapons Team's OTEC Converging Energy Cannon!
KTS: Leon Sakaki's EN Barrier activates, negating 500 base damage. KTS: Leon Sakaki successfully guards Mobile Weapons Team's OTEC Converging Energy Cannon, taking 3150 damage!
KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro has activated the Rouse Spirit Command. KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Rin Naujakaite has activated the Rouse Spirit Command. KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro engages guard against Mobile Weapons Team's Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx!
KTS: Best Defense! Astarte Spalding-Monteiro successfully guards Mobile Weapons Team's Bifors CIWS Beam Phalanx, taking 2079 damage!
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Sagiri Sakurai has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Ranka Lee is now subpiloting for Sagiri Sakurai. KTS: Ranka Lee has activated the Rouse Spirit Command targeting Sagiri Sakurai
<Pose Tracker> Astarte Spalding-Monteiro has posed.
As the barrier dissapates under their attack, the One Fine Day starts
breaking out in cheers that can be heard from the bridge, bringing a smile to
the captain's face. "What did I tell you? I know what we're capable of." The
smile doesn't fade even when the Galaxy offers a counterattack. "It's
desperate. All defensive power to forward shields. Take it head on!"
The shields come up just in time to push back the brunt of the
Galaxy's beam, causing the roar of the crew to get even louder! As Captain
Wilder's call to action comes over the radio, she responds, "You don't have to
tell me twice, Jeff. Listen up, crew! This is your captain speaking! We've got
this! What's today going to be?!"
"ONE FINE DAY!"
"ONE FINE DAY!"
"ONE FINE DAY!"
"You're goddamn right! Unload every missile we've got left on that son
of a bitch!"
The Nazca unleashes the rest of its payload, missiles coming directly
down onto theGalaxy!
KTS: Astarte Spalding-Monteiro targets Mobile Weapons Team with Vertical Launching System Remote Strike!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to react to Astarte Spalding-Monteiro's Vertical Launching System Remote Strike!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Astarte Spalding-Monteiro's Vertical Launching System Remote Strike, taking 6000 damage!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team has activated the Resupply Spirit Command targeting Shinji Kaminaga
KTS: Shinji Kaminaga has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Shinji Kaminaga has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Shinji Kaminaga has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Shinji Kaminaga has activated the Trick Spirit Command.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Sakaki has posed.
As the Quarter smashes into the Galaxy and the cannon explodes in a brilliant
flash of light, a wide grin comes onto Ozma's face.
"This is our moment, everyone! FORMATION! DYNAMITE EXPLOSION!" Ozma pushes his
thrusters to max and rockets towards the Galaxy's head.
"RIGHT!" The Skulls and Pixies and Leon all fly together as one, charging
towards the Galaxy's head in a stream of colors - yellow and blue and green
and red and white and grey twisting into a stream until they all stop.
Actuators hum and whir as dozens of missile bays open, and as a united front,
they unleash a complete and total barrage onto the Galaxy's head.
"TAAAKE THIS!!"
KTS: Leon Sakaki targets Mobile Weapons Team with Micro-Missile Full Open! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to react to Leon Sakaki's Micro-Missile Full Open!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team moderately reacts to Leon Sakaki's Micro-Missile Full Open, taking 4698 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Shinji Kaminaga has posed.
"Battle Galaxy's reangling its firing lane at - that's the main fleet!" Asami
barks. "And us!"
Volfogg hems. "I'm sure the fleet has noticed. We'll prepare a Reflector
Barrier, but this vessel isn't prepared to deflect weaponry of that magnitude.
We'll have to trust in them."
Asami mutters, but keeps working. "Meanwhile, the two divas get the boy and
also each other," she adds, slapping enter a little too hard on the console.
"Some girls get all the luck."
"I've heard that," Volfogg affirms entirely seriously.
*
Ultraman does immense damage so close, but that also means he's right there to
aim at. He throws his arms up, a faint pane of soft starlight appearing in
front of him, bouncing the retaliatory waves of beamfire back and away. Then
he casts it aside with a sweep of his hand...and begins to glow.
*
"Wait, what are these energy readings--" Asami mutters. "I've seen these.
Ultraman's putting everything into that beam attack of his! It may not be on
the level of a modern Macross Cannon, but it'll still...hey! Get clear of
Ultraman! That beam of his is no joke!!" she calls into the radio.
The teal patterns on Ultraman bolster with starlight, bleeding back to a
vibrant red, and then shining brighter until they seem to invert, until the
patterns become beacons of light shining out of his dull silver-gray body, as
Ultraman grows hotter, crackles with bioelectricity and energies much
stranger, gravity and heat bending around him.
He sweeps one arm up into a straight line. The other he holds out to the side,
and orients himself on the Battle Galaxy. The powers gathered within are
tremendous; the light leaking out of him, like that of a star.
He sweeps the left hand across his body to join it like an upside-down cross,
and at the moment of union, a scratchy beam of crackling light fires across
the darkness, scoring to the very heart of the Galaxy. Somehow, it's like the
void screams.
KTS: Shinji Kaminaga targets Mobile Weapons Team with Fully Charged Spacium Beam 133!
<Pose Tracker> Rose Tritten has posed.
A mighty explosion rips from the inside of the Galaxy's cannon, jostling and
buffeting Rose's ZAKU. As her mobile suit tumbles through the cosmos, Rose
rapidly tries to perform system reset after system reset, but it's no use. Her
ZAKU is just too damaged. It just might be able to let loose with one final
burst of Beam Machine Gun Fire. Sushila's ZAKU catches up to her and grabs
hold, stopping her from tumbling.
"Guess it's my turn now." Sushila radioed.
"My ZAKU is on its last legs...let's give it one final go!" Rose ordered, her
radio crackling.
With Aspyn joining them, the trio aimed their various beam weaponry at a hull
breach in the Galaxy's Cannon. Waves of green beam Vulcan, machine gun and
cannon fire ripped into the breach, until her machine gun ran dry...
KTS: Rose Tritten targets Mobile Weapons Team with Anti-Ship Formation Beta!
<Pose Tracker> Flay Allster has posed.
Tabizan's wild charge forward with her Composite Sword also catches Flay's
attention, whether it was effective or not. "You're.. still alive," She
manages to get out, as if it's a genuine shock after a crazy maneuver like
that... but she thinks she can be happy enough about that. It's not like she
was hoping to see anyone here die. "Let's finish this, shall we?"
The Battle Galaxy offers what defenses it has left - for the Strike E, the beam
turrets are enough to stop its assault, especially now that it's lost its
shield. While the armour begins to crack from the beamfire... it ultimately
holds - and Flay responds by first slicing off the turret with her anti-ship
sword and leaving it there, before circling around, beam rifle in hand.
"Terminal mobile suits, you heard him. Finish them off!"
The IWSP thrusters blaze, as Flay fires both the beam rifle and railguns at the
same time to do as much damage as possible to what's left of the Battle
Galaxy, now that the Macross Quarter has helpfully taken out the threat of the
Galaxy firing its cannon again. As her perfect focus begins to wane again, and
her breathing growing heavier, the warning sirens that signal low battery and
ammo begin to blare... so each shot has to count for everything.
On the other side, Alto, Sheryl and Ranka get their literal fairy tale ending.
And as the Battle Galaxy goes down, Flay watches blankly as Sheryl not only
kisses Alto, but also Ranka - and her eyes widen with shock just a little bit,
because although she knows relationships like this exist, and even knows
people in them... actually seeing it would've been unthinkable. But one cannot
say she isn't taking notes.
KTS: Tabizan Tilgez has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Tabizan Tilgez has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Flay Allster has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Flay Allster has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Flay Allster has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Tabizan Tilgez has activated the Rouse Spirit Command. KTS: Flay Allster targets Mobile Weapons Team with Strike High-Mobility Attack!
<Pose Tracker> Tabizan Tilgez has posed.
Tabizan has, unfortunately, lost her primary sword - left it embedded in the
Macross to discharge its entire battery, and while that will obviously not
kill or even cripple the giant ship it *does* stop it from shooting quite so
many beams at her. She'll call it a win.
Much more effective is the Macross Quarter driving its gigantic fist in.
Tabizan whoops in her cockpit, realizes she probably isn't supposed to do that
(it's unprofessional), and then promptly doesn't care - they'll forgive her at
a time like this, surely.
While the Vargal may no longer have a sword, it does have a knife, and Tabizan
carves at the Ghost she's still carrying around, increasingly pointlessly. She
leaves a hand-sized (Vargal's hand) chunk left attached, as big as all the
fingers spread wide, but the rest falls away from the Vargal.
She uses it once more as shelter from the beams, letting them slam into it, but
the Ghost's wings are looking more like cheese than anything solid by the time
it lets up, and Tabizan kicks it away, letting it coast off to wherever wrecks
go in space. Vargal is looking pretty battered too, but aside from that
missing foot at least it isn't actually missing parts.
More important, though...
Tabizan, like a lot of Meltrandi (whether they admit it or not) gets emotional.
This sometimes - by which we mean frequently - gets displayed as Tabizan
getting way too into a battle, because adrenaline and several other emotions
are all tied up together in her and she's never been able to separate them.
A double declaration of love isn't quite the same thing. But it hits her
nonetheless. Her parents met, and loved, on the battlefield. It means
something to her to have it tied in with a great battle for all of Earth. Her
heart beats faster; her cheeks darken even though she isn't involved, none of
it is meant for her - hell, she doesn't even know any of them except
professionally.
"Ah!" Tabizan would bring her hand to her heart except her hands are busy, down
into the controls of the Vargal. "True love! It blooms on the battlefield
again! Let's end this battle..."
"...with a kiss!"
tabizan no
Regardless of how appropriate her words are, the big Meltrandi idol, duelist,
and warrior is now more amped up then ever. Her extensional arrestors snap
out, grabbing onto two different Ghosts - moving or wrecks, doesn't matter -
and uses them as anchors, whipping herself forward. Faster, faster she burns,
a comet-tail across the black of space, the pressure building against her and
the Vargal -
Until she drives herself and her unit directly into the breach that's been
opened up, simply trying to plow through it foot-first. Her Phase Shift Armour
activates, an OVERCHARGE light appearing at the corner of her screen; the
colours of the Vargal become almost painfully intense as she uses the Phase
Shift Armour to absorb the impact of her own hyperaccelerated kick.
KTS: Tabizan Tilgez targets Mobile Weapons Team with EEQ7R-V Extensional Arrestor Wire-Guided Kick!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to react to Flay Allster's Strike High-Mobility Attack!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team poorly reacts to Flay Allster's Strike High-Mobility Attack, taking 6200 damage!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to react to Shinji Kaminaga's Fully Charged Spacium Beam 133!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team moderately reacts to Shinji Kaminaga's Fully Charged Spacium Beam 133, taking 6750 damage!
KTS: Shinji Kaminaga roots his unit, coming to a standstill and leaving him vulnerable.
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to react to Rose Tritten's Anti-Ship Formation Beta!
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Rose Tritten's Anti-Ship Formation Beta, taking 4622 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.
Something happens.
Something monumental.
Something... -electrifying-.
Amies Ernest suddenly turns in her seat aboard the Carriax, as if compelled by
some unseen, magnetic force. Against the lighting of the bridge her broad
circular glasses glint, her eyes becoming two pools of obscuring light as she
looks outward onto that infinite horizon of infinite possibilities.
It feels like something's changed. Like... like...
A thousand ships soared into the cosmic sea of stars.
"Has it -- has it finally happened--??"
And it all unfolds, in a grand romantic spectacle, projected into the cosmos.
And as it does? Amies' hands fly to her mouth, stifling a gasp. She looks as
if she has been struck by a great revelation, her cheeks flushing and her eyes
widening and her posture jolting upright like she was struck with lightning--!
... which makes it just that much more baffling for Meryl Spanna is forced to
watch Amies squirming and suddenly talking to herself in a vacuum devoid of
context.
"Amies. What is the matter with you??"
"I'm going to need to update all my files and adjust the tags on all my -- huh?
Oh! Oh. It's nothing, Meryl. Nothing at all. Uweheheh...!"
Some say Amies' work productivity grew three sizes that day. Meryl couldn't
tell you, however. She was too busy trying -not- to pay attention to the
spectacle.
"Honestly. That's much too private--!"
"That's what makes it so much juicier!!"
$$$ MEANWHILE $$$
With one last volley, the Tyranado casts its spent launcher to the void just as
that distinctive song reaches the ears of the pilots inside. Sagiri Sakurai
and Rami Amasaki both blink in nigh-perfect unison. And even as the Quarter
brings war and devastation to the Galaxy, they look--
<"Oh -- oh my!">
-- and gasp --
<"Haha. I knew you could do it.">
-- and smile.
A little smile of great triumph.
<"Atta girl.">
Rami, thoroughly scandalized, is covering her face during the entire affair
(ignore the way her fingers crack open just enough to allow for canny peeking
on the sly); it's only interrupted when the dazzling spectacle of the
Quarter's destruction of the Macross Cannon commences. She blinks, looks up.
And then--
<"Come on, Rami -- Rin,"> Sagiri's calm, -pleased- voice cuts in, the
infectiousness of her smile in her voice alone.
<"We wouldn't be much of an agency if we let down our VIP client in an
important moment like this, now would we? So let's--">
The Tyranado's eyes flash. The Quark Drive's output escalates rapidly.
<"-- clear the stage of the riffraff!">
The Tyranado launches off, the Carriax fast behind. Rin's question about the
systems of the Galaxy take a bit to answer -- but soon enough, Amies'
(strangely and terrifyingly giddy) voice comes in through the other line as a
host of data is uploaded to both Rin's Gespenst and Rancor and Scorn alike.
<"VTX's data on the New Macross-class ships is incomplete, and we don't know
-what- they've done to the Galaxy. But here's all the information we have on
hand on their basic structure. Use it wisely! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have
a lot more work to do--">
And off she pops.
To perform great deeds.
The Tyranado accelerates and accelerates and accelerates until it becomes a
smear of tracing greens and blues screaming up the great city-ship length of
the Battle Galaxy. Within, Sagiri's eyes narrow. She grips her controls tight.
And she grins a wild, defiant grin.
<"I hope you're watching, Grace! CARRIAX! Initiate Tactical Pattern: Terrible
Nightmare Delivery!">
<"Tactical Pattern: TND -- approved!">
The Carriax launches missile after missile across the hull of the Galaxy. Soon
enough, it is joined by a spray of beam fire from the Tyranado's rapid-fire
pistols.
<"Striker -- launched!">
Once again, that egg-shaped cannon fires from the depths of the Carriax. Once
again, the Tyranado grasps it, using a reverse thrust to keep from being sent
careening by its sheer weight. This time, though--
<"Eyes wide open, 'Grace'! Because you're gonna be getting exactly what you
deserve too!">
-- it is a massive -lance blade- of energy that erupts from the barrel,
winnowed down to a powerful point--
-- that the Tyranado RAMS into the central mass of the Galaxy. Accelerators
climb to dangerous levels of forward momentum as it strains and strains and
strains--
<"That's a SPECIAL SECTION 3 GUARANTEE!">
--until it breeches the hull, intent to punch into and THROUGH the Macross,
tearing through structures, systems, open space -- anything and everything in
its way --
--until it explodes out the other end, eyes ablaze with Quark-fueled violence.
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to react to Tabizan Tilgez's EEQ7R-V Extensional Arrestor Wire-Guided Kick!
KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Tabizan Tilgez's EEQ7R-V Extensional Arrestor Wire-Guided Kick, taking 4725 damage!
KTS: Sagiri Sakurai targets Mobile Weapons Team with Combination TND! KTS: You have not deployed a robot. (see +deploy) Target is not in combat.
KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to react to Sagiri Sakurai's Combination TND! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team poorly reacts to Sagiri Sakurai's Combination TND, taking 6900 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.
Rancor rises as he completes his attack run. His tumbling is arrested by the
space kit's maneuvering jets. Other than some dents, he has thus far escaped
harm. He does this to orient himself away from the most likely incoming
menaces... and this means that the automatic semi-autonomous drone witnesses
the Macross Quarter coming in.
The biggest friendly strikes! It strikes where the greatest enemy was wounded!
Where I wounded it!
I did well, thinks Rancor.
I did well, thinks Rancor.
An 11-year-old home security drone software core, linked with tele-operation
software and refined over eighteen months, refactored and imaged on a
corporate internal server, and mounted in the third of myriad bodies, twinkles
silently.
I did well, thinks Rancor:
I.
SO WHAT HAPPENED TO RIN, ANYWAY?
Scorn had swooped down and intercepted her... which in this case means a
magnetic attach-point. The squad of the VTX may remember a somewhat improvised
maneuver where Rin had to hold onto a Ghost *going through fold space* in
order to get the hell away from a planet that was rapidly dying (a thing,
incidentally, which has haunted Rin's nightmares!) from a severe case of
Vajra. A little design work and it became far less improvised.
Rin, during this moment of transit, had had her eyes drawn to the holographic
projections. To the statement of feelings. Her eyes widen slightly, feeling a
momentary glimmer of something like envy - drowned out by warm surprise, which
makes her laugh, and then she grasps the controls again. Her eyes flick
towards Amies' update. "Thanks... alright, I think I see a junction --" She
had time to study it for more than a second, but that's it. The Tyrando moves.
Rin... drifts... reorients... and...
Reaches azimuth.
She hits three keys, instructs Rancor, "Move to Carriax, regroup," and then:
"All thrusters to maximum," Rin reports. "If I crack a tooth... sorry!"
The Gespenst, despite its missing arm, leans forwards to strike a pose. The
eyes glint in the starlight of war.
"Here we go," and then both the Gespy's thrusters and Scorn's
over-engineered-for-space block kick in and the Battle Galaxy looms below Rin.
It has a second - long enough to extend the left foot. Rin breathes in
deeply... it's enough to be audible in the mic because she left it always-on
despite a two-week-long agonizing trouble ticket situation requesting voice
detection or PTT...
"Ges..."
"Pennnnnst"
The leg extends, locking in. There is, mechanically speaking, a single vertical
strut throughout the entire Mobile Suit now! A tiny feathering of the controls
to adjust for what could well have been *gravity of the wreckage* and Rin's
lips pull back.
I guess dad'd be proud, Rin thinks, a moment before letting out the last of the
breath:
"KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!!"
KTS: Rin Naujakaite targets Mobile Weapons Team with VTX GESPENST KICK! KTS: Mobile Weapons Team fails to react to Rin Naujakaite's VTX GESPENST KICK! KTS: Best Defense! Mobile Weapons Team successfully reacts to Rin Naujakaite's VTX GESPENST KICK, taking 4350 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Indeed, the Battle Galaxy IS desperate as it tries to fire what weapons
it has left at the incoming barrage of missiles unleashed by the One Fine Day.
At first it seems like it might be able to succeed.
But the barrage of missiles is joined by those from Leon, Ozma, and the
others from SMS fighting alongside them. Ultimately, it becomes too much for
the Battle Galaxy's damaged weapons array. The large amount of missiles make
their way through to explode across the warship's hull, sending chunks of
debris flying.
If that had been all, the large warship might have been able to
survive. But it was just the beginning as Ultraman unleashes a huge blast of
light. The Battle Galaxy no longer has a pinpoint barrier to block the energy,
which strikes the ship and burns through armor, quickly obliterating
everything in its path as it continues through and finally blasts out the
other side of the ship.
Rose and her team come in next, taking advantage of the breach created
by Ultraman to unleash their weapons into the unarmored interior of the large
vessels. Small secondary explosions begin to blast out of that large wound in
the robot warship. Flay quickly joins in too, firing into the quickly
expanding whole.
Tabizan dives foot first into the damaged section, blasting through
several decks of the ship before coming out the other side, saved from her own
destruction by the impressive power of Phase Shift Armor.
While the others are focusing on expanding the opening, Sagiri takes on
the task of assaulting the rest of the warship in a dazzling dance through
space, weapons fire reaching out to rip through what remains of the ship's
turrets, punch through worn or destroyed armor deep into vulnerable internal
systems. More secondary explosions begin to blossom across the vessel's
surface.
The large warship is definitely in its last moments. But as if
unwilling to let it go with some semblance of dignity, Rin comes streaking
down from above. Her rapidly moving machine rushes towards the large head of
the Battle Galaxy, before crashing into it and blasting through several decks,
destroying the ship's central computer core nestled below and blasting out the
'face' of the robot, before exiting through the bottom of the head and flying
off once more.
With its core destroyed, the Battle Galaxy goes still. The secondary
explosions take a sudden upturn in frequency, signalling the last moments of
the large vessel. It's probably wise to retreat at this point, as large chunks
of the warship are going up in wondrous blasts of light, debris getting thrown
everywhere. It all culminates in one last supernova of fire as the ship's main
reactor goes critical and detonates like a giant firework in the night sky.
Ranka is rescued. The Battle Galaxy is gone. The battle with the Vajra
is still unresolved, but with the ones pulling at the strings of that war no
more, it should be possible to find a way to end it soon.
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
It truly does seem like a fairy tale ending. The worst of the battle
seems to be over. Sheryl, Ranka, and Alto are together, alive and happy. It
would be a fine end to the triangle by rounding out its edges in a circle of
joined hands, except...
"We're connected! <3"
...Grace hasn't been sitting back twiddling her thumbs all this time.
And while she had a presence on the Battle Galaxy, she never claimed she was
physically on it, either. What is physicality to a full-conversion cyborg who
can upload her mind into back-up bodies, anyway?
The eye of the ring that surrounds the Vajra homeworld lights scarlet
then. The shell vanishes, and within, something stirs and unfolds. 'Massive'
is putting it lightly. A barbed tail unfurls from a bulbous abdomen, and the
head and thorax that rise up next are likewise clawed--but also winged, and
there is a strange sort of stateliness to its elongated head.
The Vajra Queen. Fully 500 meters, she emerges from her nest and raises
her head to gaze upon the collected fleets imperiously with asteroid-sized
eyes gleaming red.
Within her, Grace, connected bio-electronically with her through many,
many bio-cords, smiles. The loss of the Battle Galaxy bothers her exactly not
at all. The memory boxes of her fellow Galaxy co-conspirators had been stored
there--and good riddance. This just saves her the trouble of destroying them
herself now that she no longer needs them.
Her revenge hadn't been just for the Vajra, or Dr. Mao and Ranshe
Mei. But that's not important now. Now Grace is above them all. Above even the
Queen.
"Now then... Shall we teach them a lesson about what they deserve?"
In a heartbeat, at her/their instantaneous command, countless Vajra
defold from the ring. Some of them--"some" being a misnomer, considering their
sheer mindboggling numbers--fold into the battlefield against the Battle
Frontier and friends.
Most of them fold through into the atmosphere of Earth, over each major
city there.
TO BE CONCLUDED IN: FINAL FRONTIER: ROSY LAND...